The Mad Tycoon of Rome

Chapter 59: Boiling anger 

“Debt cancellation? That’s nonsense!”

As soon as Catiline finished speaking, the senators rose up like a swarm of bees.

Not all the senators knew about the secret agreement between Silanus and Catiline.

The reason was simple.

It would be troublesome if the story leaked out somewhere.

The senate had 600 members.

There was no guarantee that all of them would keep the secret.

So Silanus and Cicero only told this fact to a few trustworthy elders.

Those who didn’t know that it was a planned act expected Silanus to exercise his veto power immediately.

But Silanus, who got up from his seat, moved contrary to their expectations.

“Catiline, why did you propose such a frivolous bill? Explain your reason.”

“Silanus! What are you talking about!”

“What reason! There is no need to listen to such nonsense. Just exercise your veto power!”

“Consul, isn’t this the same as last year!”

As things went differently than expected, the senators reacted desperately.

It could be serious if Silanus, whom they trusted like a rock, did not exercise his veto power.

Especially the senators who had many debtors were ready to grab Silanus by the collar.

If it weren’t for the lictors who were guarding him, a fight might have broken out.

Cicero and Crassus persuaded the excited senators to calm down and listen to the rest of the story.

It took some time for the noise to subside.

When the meeting hall regained its silence, Silanus looked around at the senators who were glaring at him and continued his speech.

“Calm down, my dear fellow senators. I want to make it clear here that I have no intention of supporting that absurd bill.”

Some of the senators sighed in relief, and Cato rose from his seat to support Silanus’ opinion.

“That seems to be the best way to minimize the chaos. Of course, if the other consul also agrees to the debate.”

This time, all eyes were on Catiline.

He had not said a word since he proposed the bill, and he coughed a few times before opening his mouth slowly.

“Uh… of course I agree. Rome is now boiling with the groans of people suffering from countless debts. I will do my best to help them.”

“Does that include yourself among those suffering people?”

“It seems obvious that you are trying to save yourself first.”

Catiline did not answer to the murmurs of several senators.

Those who knew Catiline’s personality were puzzled by his strange behavior.

He was a proud nobleman who was overly sensitive to ridicule directed at him.

But now he did not utter a word other than what was necessary.

Some of them who had quick minds seemed to have noticed something weird.

‘What a stupid man. I told him to act as usual.’

If he acted so conspicuously, he would naturally arouse suspicion.

‘I have to tell Silanus to warn him again.’

Cicero did not like Catiline more and more as he saw him.

If he wanted to look down on the commoners, he should have at least the ability to match his high pride.

Cato was also a possessor of a noble character, but he was one of the best intellectuals in the senate.

Of course, Catiline was not stupid or incompetent either. If he was completely incompetent, he would not have made it to praetor.

He had an average intelligence among the senators.

But he did not have the ability that matched his prideful self-esteem that scorned the commoners.

‘If I were consul when he did such nonsense, I would have buried him completely.’

Cicero hid his regretful feelings and expressed his agreement with Silanus’ opinion.

Then, starting with Crassus, the elders of Optimates also agreed, and other senators followed suit according to the trend.

It was as planned.

Catiline’s acting skills were not very satisfactory, but there seemed to be no big problem so far.

The debate was scheduled to be held in Forum Romanum after a sufficient publicity period so that citizens could also watch it.

Catiline also accepted this request from the senate without doing anything else.

He kept silent throughout the meeting and left as soon as time ran out as if he had been waiting.

The young senators who did not know that Catiline had made a deal with the elders of the senate blinked their eyes suspiciously.

“Cicero, do you think Catiline has some other scheme?”

“Don’t worry too much. Catiline is not the kind of person who can come up with such a cunning scheme.”

“But wasn’t he too quiet?”

“He must have been scared because he started something he couldn’t handle.”

The new senators of plebeian origin, including Cicero, looked at Catiline’s powerless appearance with satisfaction.

Strictly speaking, it was not only the new senators.

Even among the people of the traditional noble families, there were few who sympathized with Catiline.

They wondered why he caused such a fuss when he should have stayed quiet.

Some of them even openly showed their annoyance.

This was how the current privileged faction looked at Catiline.

And this was also the reason why Marcus had eliminated the option of going with Catiline from the beginning.

※※※※

The news of the debate on the debt cancellation bill spread quickly throughout Rome.

The spectators were free, but any kind of violence was prohibited, and armed guards would escort them, they warned.

On the day of the meeting, the square was crowded with debtors and creditors who came from all over Rome.

The assembly hall was already full of people, and the nearby temples and colonnades were also packed with spectators.

The atmosphere was not very friendly.

It was natural to gather people who had borrowed a lot of money and people who had lent money in one place.

Silanus, who was in charge of the keynote speech for the debate, went up to the podium first.

He looked around once and confirmed that there were more people than he expected.

“Dear citizens, today’s debate is a place to minimize the conflict that surrounds Rome. This is not a place to argue about who is right and who is wrong.

The outcome of today’s debate will not determine the fate of the bill either. As this is an important issue, we, the senate, will carefully listen to the opinions of the citizens.

We ask you to trust us and watch us. And please keep order, as anyone who uses violent means will be arrested immediately.”

The debtors who were looking for a chance to criticize Silanus missed the opportunity to boo at his unexpectedly moderate speech.

Then Catiline, who went up to the podium, briefly stated why the bill should be passed.

The creditors were also disappointed by his weak speech.

Maybe that’s why.

The debate went on in a dull atmosphere.

The biggest reason was that Catiline was too passive in the debate.

On the other hand, the senate side launched a one-sided offensive by mobilizing numerous experts and scholars.

It looked more like a lecture than a debate.

“Consul Catiline, have you seriously considered what impact debt cancellation will have on Rome’s economy?”

“…There are many people in Rome who are struggling with debts. They need to be helped.”

“So what is your basis for proposing debt cancellation as an extreme way of helping them?”

“I thought that they would realize the seriousness of the situation only if I did this.”

“But if all debts are gone, Rome’s economy will collapse completely. Denarii and sesterces will become worthless garbage, and we will have to go back to primitive bartering instead of buying things with money. Do you really want such a future?”

Catiline’s side had no rebuttal.

They didn’t intend to participate actively in the debate from the beginning, but they also had no argument because their basis was weak.

Catiline’s supporters sighed at their consul’s powerless appearance.

But they couldn’t curse at those who tried to pass the bill by confronting the senate head-on.

Eventually, the first debate ended with an overwhelming victory for the senate side.

The citizens who were not directly involved in this matter laughed at the debtors’ poor arguments and left their seats.

It was obvious that the reasonable logic was on the side of those who opposed debt cancellation.

Even after that, Catiline only pretended to support the bill without actively trying to pass it.

The debtors suppressed their rising anger and cheered Catiline to do better.

Catiline looked frustrated, but his supporters still trusted him.

There were 600 senators in the senate, but Catiline was alone.

Even if he was consul, so was his opponent.

Who could blame him for fighting one against six hundred?

Those who sympathized with him said ‘then you try it’ to those who complained.

It seemed that the chaos was temporarily resolved, but Cicero was not relieved yet.

Cato also agreed with Cicero’s opinion.

They didn’t get along well, but the opinions of the two representative scholars of the senate often matched.

Even if they stopped the debt cancellation bill, it was only a temporary measure to stop the bleeding wound.

To completely heal this conflict, they had to find a way to help the people who were struggling with debt.

Even if they temporarily suppressed the discontent, the huge debt problem was already thrown as a social issue.

It could flare up again at any time with a small spark.

“We need to come up with a bill that can help the ruined farmers while we have time. Otherwise, we don’t know when the citizens’ anger will explode again.”

Cicero tried desperately to persuade the senators, but it was useless as talking to deaf ears.

Most of the senators also realized that Catiline had no intention of passing the debt cancellation bill.

The senate, who had already tasted victory, did not feel the need to solve the debt problem.

“It’s dangerous, it’s dangerous. We’ve heard that so many times, but nothing has ever happened, right?”

“There was a similar talk during the Gracchi brothers’ time, but in the end we were fine. We’ve been holding on for more than 70 years, so I don’t think we need to rush.”

Even Silanus, whom he trusted, suggested to wait and see a little longer.

One third of them did not realize the seriousness of the situation, another third knew it but did not feel the need to change it, and the last third did not want to give up their privileges at all.

There was no solution in this situation.

In the end, Cicero could only pray to the gods that nothing would go wrong.

But Marcus did not intend to let it go.

There was nothing good for him or Rome if this ended like this.

If he did not cut off the rotten part boldly, soon the other organs would become useless.

Marcus immediately mobilized people to spread a plausible rumor.

The rumor he spread quickly spread by word of mouth.

The content of the rumor was very credible and provocative.

‘The citizens are being deceived. Catiline has no intention of passing the debt cancellation bill. He only used them to become consul with a false promise. The senate is the same. They have no intention of listening to the citizens’ opinions. Catiline and the senate are playing a scripted act.’

This story seemed very plausible to the citizens.

It explained why Catiline was so passive and why the senate was unusually friendly to the citizens.

The rumor that Marcus spread was embellished and modified with various additions.

It had already spread all over Rome, so it was impossible to know where it came from.

To make matters worse, a decisive fact was revealed that struck the last blow to Catiline’s supporters.

‘The senate has appointed Catiline as governor of the most prosperous eastern province.’

Catiline’s supporters exploded in anger when they heard this rumor.

This was clear evidence of collusion.

Even a three-year-old child in Rome knew that the eastern province was the most desirable place for consuls and praetors.

It was a dream area that both consuls and praetors wanted to go to.

Of course, those who had high reputation and good relations with the senators were usually assigned there.

But Catiline, who had confronted the senate head-on, was appointed there.

It was impossible without some kind of deal.

There were shouts of denouncing Catiline and the senate everywhere.

Violent incidents occurred one after another in various places in Rome.

Catiline’s house was surrounded by angry supporters and he could not even enter or leave.

The guards of the consul were also overwhelmed by the momentum of the crowd and could not disperse them.

It was almost a riot, but no one could stop them.

“Catiline! Did you really deceive your supporters!”

“Did you use us for your ambition to become consul!”

“Explain yourself!”

“Explain yourself, Catiline!”

Scared out of his wits, Catiline stayed locked up in his house and did not move an inch.

He could not communicate with anyone outside because his house was completely surrounded.

The senate also did not act rashly because of this unexpected situation.

Of course, there was also an aspect that they thought it served him right even if he went wrong.

If Catiline had any ability to deal with this problem, he should have presented his own vision at this point.

He had enough time to think about it, and he could have pressured the senate by using his position as consul.

But he failed to prove his ability.

Catiline had no choice but to make a choice for his survival right now.

He did not know what would happen if his collusion with the senate broke down, but he had no time to think about it.

He was about to die at the hands of angry citizens right now, what did it matter if he had an agreement with Silanus or not.

He justified his actions to himself.

He had done his best.

It was the fault of the senate who had not presented a proper solution until now.

So the responsibility to resolve this situation was also on the senate.

Catiline, who had rationalized himself, had nothing to lose now.

An absurd spectacle of a consul inciting the citizens to oppose the senate was unfolding in Rome.

It was the situation that they feared when Catiline was elected.

No, it was worse than that.

It was not just a conflict between debtors and creditors anymore.

Through the debates and opinion gathering activities, the citizens also recognized debt as an important social problem.

They thought that debt cancellation was an extreme method that was not right, but they still had to solve it.

Above all, the anger of the people behind Catiline had grown stronger.

The stage was finally set to explode the resentment and sorrow that had accumulated over decades due to the twisted economic system.

The senate, who had turned their eyes away from reality, would soon realize the need for reform.