The Sword of Jupiter (Imperium #1) - Chapter 13

The next morning Ky was led to the Emperor, who had set up a meeting  for Ky to lay out the groundwork of what needed to be done before the  Carthaginians descended on the Romans again. The guard led him into what  he was beginning to think of as the ‘governmental’ part of the main  palace, which was the western half of the largest building that made up  the imperial complex.

After his talk with Lucilla and her father  the afternoon before, Ky had allowed her to take him on a tour of the  imperial complex. Considering he would be based out of these buildings  for the foreseeable future, a tour seemed like a good idea. Besides  distracting himself from the less than charitable emotions he still felt  towards the Romans and their choices of entertainment, the tour allowed  him to spend more time with Lucilla, an activity he found strangely  pleasing.

Directly facing the central city square sat the entrance  to the imperial palace itself, where Ky had spent most of his time. On  the very far end of the extended block that made up the complex,  opposite the palace was the Roman forum, which was used by the Senate as  both its main chambers and which housed offices for the most important  senators. The buildings that made up the rest of the block included  additional senatorial offices, a building housing the imperial treasure,  a governmental records building, and a long barracks which held the  Praetorian Guard.

The barracks had at first confused Ky. The  building was much too large for a police force but smaller than a legion  would need, and was virtually empty. The barracks themselves struck Ky  more as designed for military use rather than something used by a police  force, at least based on what he had seen in use by the legions. He  also could not help but wonder where the hundreds of men that would fill  up these barracks were during the battle itself when trained soldiers  were in such short supply.

Lucilla cleared up much of that when he voiced his question aloud.

The  barracks were assigned to the Praetorian Guard, a combination of an  elite military unit and police force that answered directly to the  emperor. The guard had a larger complex of barracks that could hold  nearly an entire legion on the other side of town. The buildings here  were for a detachment of the overall guard assigned to protect the  Emperor and members of the Roman government. The city guards he had seen  up to this point were, in fact, members of the Praetorian Guard.  Apparently, the Emperor had dispatched the bulk of the Guard along with  the other legions to deal with the northern tribe’s incursions.

He  pushed the pleasant memories of his afternoon with Lucilla aside as he  entered the room assigned for their meeting. Ky was surprised to find  that the room was not that different than what he would have encountered  in his own time. The room was wide open, with a long table stretching  down the center. Although his people would have cushioned chairs instead  of hard stools, and there would definitely not have been servants  lining the walls waiting for commands, the scene felt familiar all the  same.

Neither the Emperor nor his daughter had arrived yet, but Ky  could see several familiar, and by now friendly, faces already seated  around the table. Velius and Aelius were there along with a few others  Ky recognized such as Gordianus, Velius’s second in command, and Ramirus, the Emperor’s chief spy.

“Consul.  Welcome,” Velius said, standing and walking to greet Ky in what he was  coming to recognize as the ‘Roman’ fashion, where each person would grip  the other’s forearm near the elbow in an extended handshake.

“Velius. Aelius. How are the men?”

“Joyous of the victory but still suffering the loss of so many of their brothers,” Aelius said, greeting Ky in turn.

“We are going to have difficulty getting together enough men to replace all of our losses,” Velius said.

“That’s one of the things I want to cover today.”

Ky  eyed the man who stood slightly behind Aelius. The giant stood several  inches taller than Ky and must have outweighed him by a hundred pounds  of pure muscle. A long line traced from his right cheek to right ear, a  woolen thread still holding the two sides in place.

“This is Cossus Valerius Hirrus. My second in command,” Aelius, noticing Ky’s glances, said in introduction.

“Newly promoted,” Velius added. “Right after Aelius here was officially made Legate of the ninth.

“Congratulations,” Ky said.

“Thank you, Consul.”

The man’s voice was oddly gentle, considering his massive size.

Before  their conversation could continue any further, the door leading into  the meeting room swung open, admitting the Emperor and his daughter.

“Good, everyone’s here,” the Emperor said.

Ky  could not help but notice the looks the men gave each other as the  Emperor’s daughter took a seat at the table, sitting at her father’s  left-hand side.

Once everyone was seated, the Emperor pushed  himself up and stood straight-backed, looking across all the faces  turned towards him

“Before I begin, I wanted to once again  congratulate our legates and their subordinates on their hard-won  victory. Thanks to your brave stand we can look forward to what comes  next. A job well done.”

The Emperor paused, and everyone joined  him in giving their congratulations to the two legates, both of whom  looked discomforted by the attention.

“I believe you all know my new Consul. Ky, I don’t believe you’ve met Appius Dossenius  Marcipor, Oppius Volusius Lurio, or Flavius Pedius Hortensius. Marcipor  is one of the leading minds in Rome as well as being both my and later  my daughter’s tutor. Lurio oversees the royal treasuries and tax  collectors, and Hortensius is one of Devnum’s leading merchants, as well  as owning the foundries that produce the bulk of our military supplies.  Besides my daughter and Ramirus, these three men are my closest counselors.”

“Now,  however, we must begin that task and decide how we are to face  tomorrow. We all know the Carthaginians will not give up after a single  defeat, no matter how lopsided. I spoke with Ramirus yesterday about this. I would like for him to give us his thoughts on what they will most likely do next. Ramirus?”

“Thank you, Imperator,” Ramirus  said, standing. “My sources are limited, but I still stand by my  estimate that this attack was made up of the bulk of available forces  they had in Britannia. With winter setting in, the Carthaginians will  have trouble getting reinforcements quickly. While I’m sure they will  begin moving men from the continent right away, they will not be able to  get enough men here, before foraging their armies becomes problematic.  My best guess is we will see them by Maius at the earliest, although I  don’t believe they will be much later than that either. The governor  will be feeling pressure after losing an entire field army and will be  impatient to prove himself to their leader, who is not generally known  for accepting defeat lightly. I would bet on the Carthaginians starting  their march as soon as they possibly can, even if the early start puts  their men under hardship.”

“While I do not have access to the types of intelligence Ramirus  has,” Velius said. “I would agree with that assessment. Our issue is  that we won’t get the recalled Legions for several more days at least,  and then we will only have three more since one Legion has to stay on  the border with the Picts for security. The additional Legions wouldn’t  even bring us to the size of the force we just faced, let alone an  almost certainly larger army the Carthaginians will send next time.”

“That  is one of the reasons I called this meeting,” the Emperor said. “After  the battle, I spoke with Ky, and he believes he can help us. He pointed  out that, while he had ideas on how to make us stronger, he is a  stranger in our society and wasn’t sure of the best way to make those  ideas happen. He asked if I could put together a meeting of my most  trusted advisers to help him determine how to put his plans into effect.  He also requested I include Aelius and Velius as well as my daughter in  this meeting. Ky?”

Ky stood, giving a slight bow to the Emperor.

“As  the Emperor said, I do have thoughts on ways to strengthen Rome, but I  wanted to start with why I’m offering to help. My goal isn’t just to  help Rome fend off the Carthaginians, although that certainly is a  notable part of it. My goal is to make Rome stronger in everything, both  by introducing new technologies and new ways of doing things and new  ways of thinking. I know some of you have heard the proclamations about  me being this Sword person, and I want to say up front what I have said  to the Emperor. I am here by accident, and, as far as I can tell, I am  not able to go back to my homeland. I am not offering to help you  because of some mission handed down to me by the gods, but because if I  am to live in your society, I want the best chance of my own survival.  My motives are, mostly, purely selfish in nature.”

“You’re clearly no politician,” Velius said. “They would never admit that.”

“Which is why we like him,” Aelius said.

“I’m  fairly certain that will be the last thing I’m going to say that you’ll  like. I am fairly certain what you thought of when I said I had new  technologies and ways of doing things was weapons and military  strategies. While those are some of the things I have to offer, they are  a small portion of the changes I’m going to suggest. A new weapon or a  new tactic isn’t going to help you stand up against the Carthaginians  and their hordes, and one battle isn’t going to force them to leave Rome  alone. Rome needs long term changes if it’s going to survive. New  technologies in your industries and farming will require new ways of  taxing, new ways of mining, and new forms of businesses. To increase  your manpower to the point that you can take the Carthaginians in a  straight-up fight you’ll need new ways of thinking about science, about  medicine and sickness, and a new understanding of how your people exist  in your society, including your slaves. The changes I’m going to try and  put in place will ripple out and change other things, which will ripple  from there. You will find almost every aspect of your society, and  probably those of your neighbors’ changed.”

Ky stopped and looked at each person around the table before continuing.

“I  know you’re going to have a lot of questions about what I mean, and we  can get into those. I know you’re going to have concerns about how these  things will actually happen, and I’ll need your help in figuring out  how to deal with that. The Emperor trusts all of you to have the best  interests of Rome at heart, and I hope that’s true. What I am offering  is to teach you how to make Rome far more powerful than it has ever  been. What I require is your willing help in changing Rome, down to its  very foundations, to make that change possible.”

“Before I get into specific areas, I’m sure you have questions.”

“You  said you could introduce technologies to make Rome stronger than it  ever was before,” the man called Marcipor said. “I have studied natural  philosophy my entire life and made my career learning. Yet there is  nothing I know, or even could imagine, that could do what you suggest.”

Ky reached into his pocket and pulled out his drone. Activating it, he set it to hover over the center of the table.

“I  come from a place with technology advanced to the point that it would  seem like magic to you,” Ky said, pausing as he ordered the drone to  slowly move in front of each man, ending with a quick circle around  Marcipor’s head before stopping in the center of the table. “This is a  machine, no different than your onagers or water wheels. The drone was  designed by human minds and used by human soldiers such as myself.”

“You can teach us to make something like that?” Marcipor asked.

“No,  there are a multitude of steps between your current level of technology  and the level needed to create something like my drone. I can, however,  teach you how to grow ten times the crops with a fraction of the  manpower. I can teach you to conquer many of the sicknesses that kill  your people. I can teach you to make a weapon that can pierce any shield  and kill an enemy at one and a half mille  passus, and how to put one of those weapons into the hands of all of  your legionaries. To teach you these things I have to make you  understand how to make new forms of steel, how to mix new chemicals, how  to change your manufacturing to produce vast quantities of identical  goods, how to change your financial system to keep up with the changes  and afford the weapons and tools you will need, and to understand what  causes people to get sick.”

“I showed you my machine here,” Ky  said, ordering the drone back into his hand and deactivating it, “for  you to understand what I mean when I say I have knowledge you do not.”

“What do you need from us?” the Emperor asked.

“I  need your advice on who we need to talk to and how to convince your  people to go along with these changes. First, let me give a quick  description of the first stages of changes I want to introduce. I will  try and keep each area separate to make things clear, but many of these  will be tied together. I apologize in advance if this gets confusing.”

“You said this was the first stage?” Lucilla asked.

“Yes.  No matter how focused Rome works on the projects, not all of these new  technologies can be developed right away. Partly this is because some of  the things I have to show you, such as the weapons I just mentioned,  require you to learn about other new technologies to be able to make  them. If we had all the time we wanted, I would teach you those things  and then how to make the weapons all in one set. Given the timeline Ramirus  gave us, however, we don’t have that luxury. Instead, I will start with  teaching you weapons and tactics that can be put into effect over the  winter while working with others to get the foundations needed to go to  the next stage. Should we survive the next clash with the Carthaginians,  we can then build on those foundations to go to the next stage.”

“That was going to be my question,” Ramirus  said. “I was concerned we wouldn’t be able to make the changes you are  hinting at in the few months available to us. You seem to have  considered that.”

“I have. Before I get into specific  technologies, I want to address how we will go about handling these new  technologies. The treasury is going to be responsible for very large  outlays of cash, more than you probably even suspect when I get to  explaining some of the organizational changes. Right now Rome is funded  by taxes on the amount of land a person owns. This is a good method when  the primary form of business, and where most of your people are  employed in the growing of food. As we make changes to farming, the  number of people needed to grow food and the cost of the food will go  down. Less of your people will be landowners, and more will start to  drift into cities to take advantage of the new ways of creating and  selling goods, which will, in turn, drive down your tax revenue from  land.”

“I am suggesting two changes for a start. While taxing land  is all well and good, we will need a tax for those without land  holdings, especially those who will be making money off creating goods  rather than growing foods. The other is that each business that wants to  create the new technologies I will be providing will need to pay the  government a fee for the use of the designs and ideas. Paying for the  right to use an idea is, in fact, one of the new ideas I want to  implement. Called a patent, it is the right of a person to profit off of  the thing they invent when it’s used by other people. I can go into  more detail about that later with your clerks, but the patent would be a  legal protection, where the holder of the patent could go to the courts  if someone is using their technique without paying for the right, or at  least their approval.”

“How would you prove that the person invented this?” Lurio asked.

“We  will have to set up a clerk and a new office much like your tax  collectors, where the inventor submits his idea and, if approved, a  record of that idea is held in the patent office as an official record.  Since no office will be available until your Senators create and pass a  law starting that system, we will have to rely on contracts for the  first several inventions, which need to be started soon if enough of the  weapons and tools are to be available when we need them.”

“You said you wanted every business that could participate to have a chance to,” Hortensius asked.

“Yes.  First, because we will ultimately need multiple businesses working on  the new inventions. Second, because that type of competition will lead  to better end results. Lastly, because the businesses involved in  creating these new weapons will be making large sums of money off of  them and limiting that to just the imperial favorites will breed  resentment, making later changes harder.”

“I will arrange for you  to sit with Lurio and some of our more … friendly Senators,” the Emperor  said. “Getting something like that through the Senate requires more  than simply my agreement.”

“That’s fine. As I was saying, the  first thing we’ll need to start work on, are four new weapons. One is an  updated version of your arcuballista  called a crossbow that will fire significantly farther with a far  greater penetrating power. Some shields and armor will stop the bolts,  but the Carthaginians are less armored than your legionaries making them  susceptible to the weapon. This will not be a replacement for your  archers but an addition to the front line infantry. Coupled with a new  tactic called volley fire, your front line troops should be able to do a  lot of damage to the enemy before you ever get into contact.”

“The  next weapon is also a bow, but this one a replacement for the bows your  archers use. The good thing is the design is not a radical departure  from the bows you use now, which means you shouldn’t have difficulty  producing them. The harder part will be to train your archers in the new  weapon, which handles very differently. The people who used to use this  weapon in my society’s past spent their lifetime training. I’m honestly  not sure we’ll be able to train your archers to adjust to using them in  such a short amount of time. If we can, the range advantage they give  us will be significant.”

“Next is a new type of ballista called a  trebuchet, which would be more useful in a siege rather than the open  field battle we will almost certainly end up with, but they will still  offer some advantages. The main difference between the mangonels or  onagers you currently use and the trebuchet is the weight it can throw.  The trebuchet should have the same range as your onagers, perhaps a  little further, but you won’t have to rely on twisting ropes keeping  their tension, causing the results to be more predictable and lessening  how often you need to change parts. Like I said, this is a minor update  and the least important of the four weapons.”

“The last weapon  isn’t a weapon in the strictest sense, but two changes to your saddle.  These changes will be easier to show your men in practice, but together  they will allow you to replace the lances you currently use with a much  longer one that you can impact harder without dismounting the rider and  allow the riders to stay mounted on sharper maneuvers. This is the  easiest change to make, and I’m certain your cavalry commanders will see  the benefits fairly quickly.”

“This sounds like a lot of new equipment,” Hortensius said when Ky came to a stop.

“It  is! Hence, the need for every manufacturer we can get to be  participating, which mandates the need for the new financial methods to  pay for everything. Beyond having to learn new designs, some of these  parts will need to be made with stronger materials than you currently  use, especially in the crossbows, requiring changing to a new steel,  which in turn will require a redesign to the forges you currently use.  While that may seem like too much to get done and still create all the  equipment we need; beyond the new forge works, I will show you a new  process of manufacturing that will not only increase how quickly you can  produce goods, but will also make them more uniform.”

“I am  guessing you will need to sit with me and whichever of the factories we  can get to join me before you take the changes to the legions?”  Hortensius asked.

“The saddle changes the legions should be able  to do themselves. I’m not sure about either the siege weapons or the  longbow, if the legions can do that or if they need your factories.”

“Siege  weapons require some smithed items, although the bodies are usually cut  and assembled by the legions engineers. The bows are usually assembled  by the archers themselves. You do understand that most of the equipment  used by legionnaires they buy for themselves?” Hortensius said.

“I  do, which is one of the things we are going to have to change. For now,  I will talk to the legions about the changes to their bows and siege  equipment.”

“You sounded like you have more than just weapons to offer,” the emperor prompted when the conversation started to wind down.

“Yes.  The thing I’ve noticed many of your past commanders commenting on most  often, is how disease is the biggest problem for your armies.”

“This is true. We lose more men to sickness than nearly any battle we’ve ever fought,” Velius said.

“I  want to sit with your doctors and learned men and talk about disease.  This will be difficult for many, if not most, of them to believe in  right away since, unlike the weapons, much of what I have to say will  not be readily observable. If I can get them to believe me, though, this  will be the greatest thing I can do for Rome. You will end up losing  far fewer of your people, especially your children, to disease.”

“I will talk to those I know and arrange a time for you to describe this new world to us,” Marcipor said.

“Good.  I will also talk to you two,” Ky said, pointing at Velius and Aelius,  “about your camps. We can make some changes that will greatly reduce the  number of men that become ill.”

“We are at your service,” Aelius said.

“The  next major piece is the owners of your largest farms. I will be able to  show them new tools and methods of planting that will allow two men to  do the work of a dozen. Some of these will require the smiths to create  new implements, but that will take second priority to the parts needed  for weapons.”

“The last person I need to talk to is someone who  knows how to work fabric and wood. I will show them how to create an  alternative to sheepskin or the reed papyrus, which will be cheaper and  easier to produce in large quantities. This won’t have immediate  changes, but will be needed for later stages as we make changes to the  way clerks keep track of assets and information.”

“Is that everything?” the Emperor asked as Ky paused.

“No, the last part is going to be the hardest for you to accept. You need to stop using slaves.”

“Hold on …” Hortensius said.

“I’m not sure …” Ramirus began.

“The Carthaginians …” Velius said.

“Stop,” the Emperor said, interrupting the men who started to speak at once. “Let him finish.”

This  was the part that Ky had thought about the most. He was not going to  get anywhere arguing on moral grounds. This was a very different time,  when the whole world participated in the practice, and almost no one had  moral objections. He knew he would need another tactic if he was going  to get Romans to turn their back on slavery.

“I know this will not  happen quickly, and many of your wealthiest Romans use slaves as the  bulk of their workforce. You have a manpower problem. First, you have a  manpower problem in your Legions. Even if every free Roman signed up for  the Legion tomorrow, you still wouldn’t have enough soldiers to see  this war with the Carthaginians through to the end. There aren’t enough  of you. Second, you have a manpower problem in your industry.”

“I  thought you just said you’re biggest obstacle was going to be wealthy  businessmen who use slaves for most of their labor. How does removing  slaves help a manpower problem in our industry?” Hortensius asked.

“Do you use slaves in more complicated tasks that require years of apprenticeship to be able to perform successfully?”

“No.”

“Exactly.  Except for your gladiators, you use slaves for menial labor. In the  fields, as servants, in warehouses. The only really skilled group of  slaves you seem to employ as a society, are  your gladiators. This system seems to work only because owning a  gladiator is seen as a form of prestige, rather than as a business deal.  As your level of industry improves, especially in some of the later  stages, your workforce will become more specialized. Slavery will become  economically unfeasible. There is a solution, however.”

“Which is?” The Emperor asked.

“A  path out of slavery. Allow slaves a path to become citizens after a set  amount of work or level of performance. Some will choose to return to  their homeland but, if treated properly, many will have assimilated into  Roman culture and will choose to stay. They will build up your  population base and help make Rome stronger. I have specifics that we  can get into later, especially how they can be used to immediately  bolster the military, which I’ll talk to your Legates about, once the  missing legions return.”

“I understand I’m asking for a lot, and  there is going to be a large push back. I’m not looking to change your  society at once. I do think that, once your people experience the  difference offered by these changes, you’ll see the benefit of them and  embrace the changes that come after. The Emperor said you were his most  trusted advisers and I hope you will be able to advise me on how to get  our fellow citizen to accept the changes that need to happen.”

“I  think Ky has given us all much to think about,” the Emperor said. “Ky,  if you’ll excuse us, I would like to talk with my advisers about how to  make this all happen. I’ll have the person best suited for each area you  outlined take charge, and bring together everyone that needs to be  involved. From there you should be able to give specific instructions  and work with them to make the changes happen. I also have two things I  need to discuss with you. I’ll send a guard for you once we finish  here.”

“I am at your service, Princeps.”