The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 27 The Beginning of an Emergency 

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The chariot carrying Marcus and Spartacus headed towards Naples, shining under the midday sun.

Marcus enjoyed the worst ride he had ever experienced, swaying silently as time passed.

Spartacus tensed his whole body and fixed his eyes on the floor.

He had not shown this kind of nervousness even before fighting Crixus, which made Marcus chuckle slightly.

“Are you nervous?”

“Yes.”

Spartacus answered immediately. 

His pounding heartbeat seemed to reach Marcus’s ears.

He was on his way to meet his wife again, whom he had parted with in faraway Thrace.

It was a situation where it would be strange not to be nervous.

“Don’t worry. She matches your description perfectly. She has the same name, she was dragged from Thrace to Rome on the same day you said, and oh, I also heard that she is a great cook.”

“My wife is indeed excellent at cooking. Whenever we had guests, she would prepare the dishes herself, and they all praised her food. I was proud of her.”

“See? With so many matching features, you can have some hope. Fortunately, she seems to be living well thanks to her cooking skills.”

A glimmer of hope appeared on Spartacus’s stiff face. 

He tried to empty his mind to avoid disappointment, but he couldn’t help it.

“Naples is not far from Capua, but I couldn’t find her even though she was so close…”

“It can’t be helped. You were locked up in the training camp all this time, and your wife didn’t know your name was Spartacus. And even if she did, there was no way for you to meet. Well, you’ll be a free citizen when you go back to Rome anyway, so you can change your name if you want.”

“No. Even if I become a free citizen, I want to live as Spartacus now and forever. The person who inherited the will of my comrades is the gladiator Spartacus of Capua, not the powerless man who couldn’t protect anyone in Thrace.”

Spartacus’s mind became stronger after the war with the rebels ended.

He had always been unrivaled in terms of skill, and now he seemed to be almost complete mentally as well.

If he could find his wife again, nothing would shake his heart.

‘By the way, if Spartacus’s wife is such a good cook, maybe I should ask her to work as my personal chef.’

Maybe it was because of his memories from his previous life, but sometimes he missed some foods terribly.

He didn’t expect anything like kimchi that was hard to make.

But he wondered if it was possible to make something similar to rice soup.

At first it might be difficult, but someone who was skilled at cooking would be able to make it after some trial and error.

‘I used to have a time when I was happy with a bowl of rice soup on a rainy day… It’s a pity that I can’t feel that again.’

He imagined himself offering a pork soup with a strong smell to his neighbors at his family mansion, and he smirked at how absurd it was.

He shook his head and dismissed his silly thoughts, and checked the things he had to do in the future.

There were too many things that he had to worry about besides rice soup.

First of all, his plan to gain the favor of the Senate was going smoothly. 

His strategy to focus on restraining Pompey from the Senate also worked out beautifully.

He was lucky that Pompey was exactly as he was described in history.

Of course, that didn’t mean he was an easy opponent to deal with.

He had never failed in his life, so he was overconfident, but his ability was flawless except for his lack of political skills.

‘He said he recognized the value of the stirrup at a glance.’

He had only exchanged a brief greeting with him when he sent him back to Rome, but he had left an unforgettable impression on him.

A firm confidence and an unwavering will that were deeply rooted in him. 

And a natural talent and a charismatic leadership that supported them.

He couldn’t deny that he had the appearance of a great hero who would dominate the world.

To be honest, he also wanted to see what kind of cavalry tactics the genius of strategy would use with the stirrup.

‘But still, it was a wise decision not to show him the heavy cavalry.’

The stirrup cavalry that could perform lance charging was an existence that could completely destroy the balance of the battlefield in this era.

If he gave such a card to a strategic genius like Pompey too early, he couldn’t predict what kind of butterfly effect it would cause.

He would find out anyway as time passed, but for now he had to keep it hidden.

‘By the time they find out, we should have improved enough, so the gap won’t change.’

In the battle with the rebels, the heavy cavalry showed more destructive power than expected. 

But at the same time, there were also many points that needed to be improved.

The most urgent point to improve was the quality of the armor.

The lorica hamata that the current Roman army used was not suitable for heavy cavalry.

The lorica hamata was a chainmail armor that was strong against slashing attacks, but very weak against piercing attacks.

But most of the attacks that heavy cavalry with lances received were piercing weapons like spears or arrows.

It was fine against poorly armed rebels, but against a well-trained army, they could collapse before they even clashed.

He also considered introducing armor like the ones used by Parthia or the lorica segmentata used during the imperial era.

But this was also a stopgap measure.

Even though the lorica segmentata was a kind of plate armor, it was incomparable to the full plate armor used after the 15th century.

Full plate armor was the ultimate equipment that could maximize the formation-breaking power of cavalry.

It would be meaningless if they were annihilated by arrows before they even reached the enemy, no matter how strong their attack power was.

They had to deflect the enemy’s arrow barrage with plate armor and shatter their defense with lances.

Without this perfect offense and defense, the power of heavy cavalry would be only half at best.

‘Assuming that we steadily improve the breed of warhorses… The biggest problem is still the production of steel.’

With the current ironmaking technology, it was impossible to produce full plate armor like those used after the 15th century.

To make full plate armor, they needed enough production capacity to back it up.

And of course, ancient ironmaking technology couldn’t produce steel in such large quantities.

It meant that they had to improve their ironmaking technology first before they could talk about making plate armor.

The only fortunate thing was that it was not an impossible area with their current technology.

‘The steel production in medieval Europe exploded after they imported advanced bloomeries from the East. And then there was another development when they introduced water-powered bloomeries. At least we already have primitive blast furnaces now. If we pour time, manpower, and money into it, we should be able to achieve mass production of steel.’

A bloomery was a device that blew air into a furnace. It increased the fire power by supplying oxygen to the fire and melted iron more effectively.

A blast furnace was technically different from a bloomery, but it could be seen as an early form of smelting furnace.

Most of the ironworks in Rome now used both furnaces and blast furnaces to make ingots. 

Of course, they couldn’t make ingots without impurities with their current technology.

Marcus felt the need to innovate their ironmaking technology as soon as he returned to Rome.

This was not something that could be done in a short time. 

They had to constantly invest fixed manpower and funds and develop steadily.

They had to develop what they could develop and import excellent technologies from the East as much as possible.

Especially, if he could somehow learn the Chinese steelmaking method that had been used since the Han dynasty, he would have nothing more to wish for.

But in the end, the most basic prerequisite for achieving all this was money.

Without enough funds, most of the plans he had in mind would be impossible to carry out.

‘I need to come up with some more business ideas besides stirrups and horseshoes. Well, there are plenty of ways to make money anyway.’

Of course, this was not all he had to do.

Improving ironmaking technology, expanding business, and finally recruiting talent.

These three things were not one-time tasks, but ones that he had to keep doing all the time.

In particular, Marcus felt the need to recruit outstanding talents from various fields.

He had Septimius as someone who could move like his own hand, but he was more like a personal secretary strictly speaking.

Spartacus had something else to do besides guarding him, and Danae was still young. 

She would start to play an active role when Marcus entered the Senate.

He needed someone who was competent enough to move like his hand, even if they were not completely trustworthy like those three.

The future Rome would be different from before.

The contradictions of the system that Sulla had forcibly suppressed had almost reached their limit.

It would become a melting pot of bursting desires, ambitious ambitions, and tangled emotions.

If he was not thoroughly prepared, he would only be swept away by the situation and not be able to take control.

When he was young, he had no choice but to adapt to the situation.

The wealth of his family was ultimately owned by his father Crassus, and Marcus’s power was weak.

Even when the rebellion broke out, all Marcus could do was stand by Crassus’s side and interfere.

But not anymore. It shouldn’t be.

He didn’t want to change the course of history, but he also didn’t want to lose the initiative of the events.

He turned his eyes to Spartacus, who was sitting across from him.

He had given his subordinate a heavy burden that he had to carry for the rest of his life, even though it was unavoidable.

He wouldn’t let that happen again.

Through this rebellion, Marcus had looked back at who he was.

He had to become a leader who could lead many people.

Leading people meant having the qualifications that matched it.

Marcus lifted his head.

It was a moment when a calm but intense determination was engraved deep in his heart.

The clouds that flowed outside the shaking window were quietly swaying.

※※※※

A couple who had been sold as slaves and separated met again in a distant foreign land.

The husband was too scared to confirm his wife’s face.

“Is it… you?”

The familiar voice that he had dreamed of.

Spartacus, who had been looking down all the time, was shaken by an indescribable joy.

“It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Seline… Is it really you…?”

Light returned to Spartacus’s eyes, which had been sunk by anxiety.

He slowly walked up and reached out his hand to his wife’s face.

He hesitated several times in the middle, wondering if it was not an illusion.

When he felt the warm warmth through his fingers, Spartacus made an unspeakable expression.

His wife was here.

The person he would give his whole life for without regret.

Tears finally welled up in Spartacus’s eyes. 

His wife Seline also couldn’t hold back her tears and let them flow.

“I’m glad you’re safe. Really… I’m so relieved. I…”

He had so many things he wanted to say to her if he met her again. 

An apology for not being able to protect her in the past, a gratitude for being able to meet her like this, and countless stories about the future.

He had a mountain of words that reached his throat, but he couldn’t make a sound.

So he just cried.

She saw him and cried even more.

The tears that ran down their faces were their hearts that burst out.

They could understand each other’s words just by exchanging their eyes.

Marcus, who was watching them from behind, felt a pang in his chest.

He hoped that this would be a little comfort for his subordinate, who had been hurt by betraying his close friend.

“I’m glad it turned out well.”

Spartacus’s wife was very lucky.

She had received basic education and had culture, and she was also very good at cooking.

She caught the eye of a wealthy noble couple in Naples with her skills and entered their mansion as a slave.

Her masters liked her cooking so much that they treated her very well.

She never suffered from harassment or abuse.

The only thing was that her attempts to find out about her husband’s whereabouts always failed.

It was because Spartacus had abandoned his name in Thrace and lived as a gladiator named Spartacus.

Septimius, who had received Marcus’s order, contacted him.

He negotiated with the noble couple and bought the ownership of Seline for three times the price he had paid when he first brought her.

The noble couple said they would let her go if he paid the original price, after hearing her situation, but Marcus insisted on paying extra.

It was a gesture of gratitude for treating his subordinate’s wife well.

Spartacus knelt before Marcus and bowed his head when he heard this.

He couldn’t express his gratitude with any words or actions, but he couldn’t help but do at least this much.

Seline also knelt beside him.

“Young Master, thank you very much. I will never forget this favor, even in death… No, even after death. I swear to serve you with my body and soul until I can no longer move. My life from now on is for fulfilling your will and wishes. I will cut down anything that stands in your way.”

“You don’t have to do that much. You’ll be a free citizen when we go back to Rome. We’ll be in a relationship of patronus (patron) and clientes (client), not master and slave. Of course, I’ll free Seline too, so let’s have a formal ceremony when we get to Rome.”

“I don’t care about the formality. My life from now on is for serving you. The master of my husband is also my master. Even if I’m freed, I will faithfully serve you.”

“Don’t be so formal… Anyway, thank you. You must have a lot of things to talk about as a couple, so go ahead and chat. I’ll finish the contract with Seline’s former master and come back.”

They were two people who had met again after a long and arduous journey. 

Marcus decided to leave them alone politely.

He looked at the couple who had a tearful reunion and then turned his eyes away.

At the end of his sight was Rome.

He had finished everything he had to do before returning.

From now on, he wouldn’t stop for a moment until he reached the top of Rome.

This was the real beginning.

A moment of new departure was waiting for Marcus.

Note: 

Lorica hamata is a type of **mail armor** that was used by Roman soldiers for over 600 years, from the 3rd century BC to the 4th century AD. The name comes from the Latin word for “hooked”, as the armor was made of rings that hooked into each other. The armor was sleeveless in the Republican period, but gained sleeves and shoulder pieces in the Imperial period. It was very flexible and strong, but also heavy and expensive. It was the preferred armor of centurions and sometimes worn by emperors. 

Lorica segmentata is another type of **personal armor** that was used by soldiers of the Roman army, consisting of metal strips fashioned into circular bands, fastened to internal leather straps. The armor was introduced around the start of the Empire and was used until the 4th century AD. It was expensive to produce and heavy, but also very protective and iconic of the Roman legions. It came in two semi-circular sections that were laced together to enclose the torso, with shoulder guards and breast and back plates. It was possibly limited to the legions, the best heavy infantry. 

Full plate armor was a type of **personal armor** that covered the entire body of the wearer with steel plates, culminating in the iconic suit of armour of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It developed from the coat of plates worn over mail suits in the 14th century, and reached its peak in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. It was very protective and durable, but also heavy and expensive. It was often decorated with gold plating, engraving, or fluting. It was worn by knights and nobles, as well as some heavy cavalry and infantry units. It was gradually replaced by simpler and lighter cuirasses in the 17th century, due to the development of firearms.

A bloomery is a type of **furnace** once widely used for smelting iron from its oxides. It was the earliest form of smelter capable of smelting iron without melting the ore.  It produced a porous mass of iron and slag called a bloom, which was then forged into wrought iron. A bloomery consisted of a pit or chimney with heat-resistant walls and one or more pipes (called tuyeres) that allowed air to enter the furnace. The bloomery process involved heating the ore and charcoal in the furnace, creating carbon monoxide that reduced the iron oxides to metallic iron. The bloomery was used from ancient times until the 19th century, when it was replaced by more efficient methods of iron production.