RPAGF Chapter 7325 Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes
Chapter 7325 Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes
Chapter 7325 Plans Can't Keep Up with Changes
“Tomorrow I will have the elders of the Claudius family propose that the position of treasurer be made. Elder Herodian can succeed to the position, but he cannot temporarily assume it indefinitely,” Benito said earnestly. Nigel nodded in agreement.
What's a temporary replacement? Don't we in Rome have suitable people?
What a joke! Don't think we don't know what you're thinking. Taking over this position temporarily is just a way of wanting to continue the nationalization process that Pompiñus started, but not wanting to take responsibility!
How could there be such an ignorant senator as you in the Roman Senate? Herodian, get down!
“The other candidates are also difficult to deal with; there are quite a few people eyeing the position of treasurer.” Nigel began to seriously consider how to push Pomponi to succeed as treasurer.
Don't be fooled by Chen Xi's view that Pomponi is the only suitable and inevitable successor to the position of treasurer. That conclusion is based on the historical context. If we look at it from the perspective of this era, Pomponi wouldn't even be considered one of the top three candidates.
The idea of a son inheriting his father's business is something everyone can accept, but Pomponi's age disadvantage is too great. What do you mean by taking control of the finances of a large Mediterranean empire at the age of thirty and driving reforms? Do you think you're a god?
“There are quite a few, but Pomponi also has its own advantages,” Benito said, shaking his head.
"Let's act within our means." Although Nigel was persuaded by Benito, he was still thinking and did not gamble everything. If Pomponi could become the treasurer, then there would be no question, he would go all in. But in the current situation, it seemed unlikely to happen, so it was better to be cautious.
“We don’t need the Duke to lead the charge from the beginning. We just need to make sure the ground is solid before he pushes things forward.” Benito wasn’t disappointed. Some things depend on whether fate is on your side. If it is, everything is fine; if it isn’t, then all is lost.
“If Pomponi can’t become the treasurer, I will push for Hirodian to become the treasurer.” Nigel revealed his trump card. Benito frowned upon hearing this. To him, Hirodian becoming the treasurer was only a less bad outcome; but to Nigel, it was very likely to result in a severe beating. Why would Nigel push for it?
“As the treasurer, Hirodian will definitely push for full nationalization and citizenship, after all, he has been harping on this ever since he went to the Han Dynasty once,” Nigel said with a sneer. Before he sat in the position of treasurer, he would try his best to restrain himself, but if he sat in this position, he would definitely make attempts in this regard.
Once they tried, Nigel, who had been entrenched in Spain, dared to temporarily act as the governor of Spain and completely exploit the country. Even if it couldn't last forever, a short period of time would be enough.
Therefore, Hirodian's appointment as treasurer is not a good thing for Nigel, but considering that trouble is bound to happen, taking advantage of the chaos to gain some benefits and recover some losses is also a solution!
So if all else fails, Nigel strongly supports Hirodian as treasurer. After all, he's based in Spain, and there's really nothing anyone can do about him. Besides, he's been taking advantage of Spain and is getting reimbursed. Maybe he can even form a new interest group.
Benito's vision was somewhat short-sighted, and he couldn't fully comprehend Nigel's life, which included experiencing turbulent times and even vying for the throne. He underestimated the now somewhat down-on-his-luck Nigel, never imagining that Nigel would have such courage.
You want to build a second Senate outside of Italy? Is that even possible? You must be looking for trouble!
Seeing Benito's bewilderment, Nigel couldn't help but smile inwardly: He had taken the initiative from the moment he came in. I thought it was because you were capable and had a long-term vision, but it turns out you had a plan all along. Now you can't figure it out, can you?
Nonsense, how could anyone understand that Nigel's move to make Herodian the treasurer, according to common sense, was simply a suicide mission. As an honest elder statesman, if Herodian were to actually take the position of treasurer, he would definitely continue Pompiñus's suppression of the senators and nobles and continue to promote nationalization.
But Nigel had already planned his move from the moment he arrived in Italy: either to nibble away at some national interests, or, more simply, to stir up some separatist forces in the Senate, causing the Senate to self-destruct so he could feast on the spoils. In any case, from the very beginning, this guy wasn't there to attend the meeting; he was there to pack up his own interests. As for what those interests were, it didn't matter; he could pack them all up!
Although he couldn't understand why Nigel would agree, Hirodian was already in Benito's plans as a potential treasurer. So after pretending to think about it for a while, Benito gave up on internal strife and decided to put aside what he didn't understand for now, knowing that the future would tell him how to choose.
"That's settled then. A precise answer can't be given right now, but an agreement is possible. I'll push for Pomponi to become the treasurer. Once that's approved, the rest is up to Duke Nigel." Benito had no intention of getting bogged down in internal strife, nor did he want to consider the underlying thinking behind Nigel's second plan. Following others' pace would only lead to trouble, so keeping it simple and achieving success in one fell swoop was the best approach!
“Alright.” Nigel didn’t say anything. Although he was mentally prepared for Herodian to take over, as a Roman duke, he still had some Roman supremacy in mind. In other words, Nigel didn’t want to go that far if it was possible to achieve his own interests.
"It's better that the Roman Empire still exists," Nigel thought with a complex expression after watching Benito leave. "If there weren't really no other way, who would choose to let their country come to this point? Right? I, Nigel, still love Rome!"
Okay, so that's just talk. At this level, talking about loving Rome is almost like a joke. They're more about protecting their own interests and their own group. Nigel's so-called lack of choice actually means he doesn't want to take a loss. Surely no one really thinks Nigel is completely unable to repay the debt he owes to the Senate.
Although the amount of money was indeed very large, and it would be quite difficult for Nigel to repay it all, he could repay part of it and then find an intermediary to negotiate a partial exemption. After all, the act of using the Sky Ring to blow up South America was a joint action by the three great empires and was collectively reviewed and approved by the Senate. If Nigel really wanted to put aside his pride, he could actually get it approved.
However, that would offend quite a few people. After all, not every senator was like Herodian, Pompiñus, and their group, willing to take the path of sacrificing their family for the country. Most senators relied on Rome as a platform to obtain their own interests. Being able to do something for Rome while obtaining their own interests was already considered quite good of them as senators.
Frankly speaking, it is self-evident how most senators would choose when their own interests conflict with the interests of the state. After all, they can find many reasons, such as "I have already sacrificed myself," "My ancestors sacrificed themselves," "I just made a normal choice," or "The state doesn't care about these things," and so on.
In short, there are all sorts of reasons that can convince oneself to calmly and peacefully claim the benefits that belong to oneself.
Even this is considered good; at least it's still about gaining one's own benefit. Truly ruthless people are those who greedily hoard the interests of others and the nation into their own pockets.
“Still young.” Nigel shook his head after watching Benito leave and returned to his room, preparing to continue contacting elders willing to cooperate with him.
To reiterate, while there were many Claudius family elders in the Roman Senate, it did not mean that these elders were aligned with the will of the Claudius family. With such a large number of people, different groups naturally formed, leading to different interests.
Especially when it comes to matters that even the family cannot reach a consensus on, external forces will inevitably intervene, and a duke will naturally be drawn into such power struggles.
“Duke.” Annaus bowed to Nigel with a touch of solemnity.
"What do you think?" Nigel put down the letters he was dealing with, looked up at Annaus and asked, "How much sincerity do you think Benito had in what he said?"
“Duke, I think Pomponi is very likely to become the treasurer.” Although Annaus did not have the same perspective as Chen Xi, who was at the lower end of the timeline, he had worked with Pomponi for a long time and knew that the man was very capable, extremely capable. Apart from Pomponi, in Annaus’s opinion, others were at most on par with Pomponi in terms of finance.
"Why?" Nigel asked cautiously, crossing his arms to support himself.
“The death of Pompiñus served as a reminder to the Senate that those who sit in high positions and execute strategies must have a long enough lifespan. The death of a person and the end of a policy are irreversible, so only by having a long enough lifespan can one succeed,” Annaus stated his judgment. “Therefore, we must first discuss a clear roadmap, and then select a suitable treasurer based on that roadmap.”
“It’s not about letting the treasurer choose Rome’s future industrialization path, but about first discussing the path of industrialization and then choosing a suitable treasurer.” Nigel was thunderstruck.
“That’s my opinion,” Annaus said in a deep voice. “Treasurer Pompiñus has enough experience, so he took the initiative to promote nationalization. Let’s not talk about whether this path is right or wrong, because it’s meaningless. We only need to consider one thing: what if we replace him with another treasurer and do it all over again?”
“That does seem to be the case.” Nigel had already realized what Annaus was talking about. “The Claudius family is probably already brewing this consensus. Even if they don’t realize it, they probably have formed this idea in their subconscious. Benito can say it’s Pomponi, but in fact, some people inside already have this idea, they just haven’t figured it out yet.”
“In that case…” Nigel understood the situation.
"Regardless of the ideology or the path taken, His Excellency Pompiñus has accumulated a vast amount of wealth. After seeing this wealth, the senators will not be able to revert to their previous path, because this is a huge amount of profit that they cannot give up," Annaus said with a hint of seriousness. "Therefore, the path will definitely be contested, but what to do has already been decided. Even those senators who opposed His Excellency Pompiñus back then but did not die know how to choose."
Nigel nodded. He had fully understood Annas's thinking. He hadn't thought of this before, but now that Annas had brought it up, he realized that the Roman Empire could not revert to its former form. They could only choose to continue along the industrialization path of Pompiñus.
Having witnessed such immense wealth, the senators would, frankly, not allow a return to the days of stingy, money-making practices. So the debate wasn't about governance, but about who would govern.
“Therefore, the older people will inevitably be eliminated. The Roman Senate has already decided what to do, but it hasn’t decided to decide to what extent to do it. But no matter how much to do it, and no matter how serious the so-called ideological struggle is, the current Senate definitely needs a senator who can sit in the position of treasurer for a long time and will not suddenly die of old age,” Annas said with a deep expression.
“In that case, Pomponi is very likely to be the one,” Nigel said with a delighted expression.
“Yes, Pomponius may not be as strong as those big shots, but he is younger than them all, and the Senate certainly needs a young and healthy treasurer right now. Only in this way can the path of industrialization be continued.” Annaus nodded and said, “After all, the death of Lord Pomponius has already thrown the Senate into chaos. What if it happens again within ten years?”
Nigel nodded. He fully understood and agreed with this line of thinking. After all, he was also a greedy elder, and he liked the huge profits created by the treasurer. Even if he could get a smaller share of these profits than before, the total increase meant that the amount he actually received was far greater than before.
Just like someone who has experienced the good things of later generations returning to the feudal era, they certainly wouldn't feel anything about material desires, because they've experienced it all. The output limit of the feudal era was there, and your needs simply couldn't be satisfied. Even the so-called best food and the most fun things were really just so-so. Social progress is reflected in every aspect.
Therefore, after Pompiannis's death, the Senate may be embroiled in a power struggle for a short period, but in the end it will come down to the issue of food – that is, no matter who is in power, they must maintain the previous prosperity, or even better, make it more prosperous than before. That is the reality.
“I’m writing to the other elders now, voting for Pomponi. We won’t get involved in the political line issue anymore. I just need Pomponi as the treasurer.” Nigel made up his mind instantly. Although he could still gain benefits by getting bogged down in the political line dispute, compared to Pomponi as the treasurer, who could provide a continuous stream of benefits, the benefits from the political line dispute were insignificant.
Moreover, at Nigel's level, he had enough experience and power to remain neutral. No matter how powerful the Roman Empire was, it wouldn't drown the Duke right away, right?
Nigel wrote furiously, sending a letter to every elder with whom he had a vested interest, hoping to promote Pomponi as treasurer. To be honest, this action was truly a clear stream amidst the mudslide, too clear to be true.
While the other senators were fighting tooth and nail over the question of whose Rome it would be, even at the cost of their lives, Nigel was focused on making money by any means necessary. So when Severus's intelligence network learned what Nigel had been up to lately, they were speechless. "You're a duke, and this is all you're doing? Can't you do something more respectable?"
“That’s it, let Nigel go.” Severus sighed. He had been worried that Nigel would seize territory and become a warlord, and then he would take action. But now, it seemed that Nigel just wanted to make money.
Even if this money-making behavior was extremely despicable, to the point of clearly colluding with internal and external forces and conspiring with treasurers to embezzle Rome's treasury, was such behavior a problem for someone at the level of a duke? No! If they were wholeheartedly focused on making money, they wouldn't have time to cause trouble; if they didn't cause trouble, the Roman Empire could have thrived!
"Your Majesty," the attendant said, somewhat speechless. This was an act of interfering in Roman national policy, making secret collusion, and influencing the selection of treasurers, and yet they were just letting it go?
"That's fine then." Severus waved his hand, too lazy to care anymore. In his view, the real issue was the debate over Rome's next course. Even though the course was almost finalized, some people would still put up a desperate struggle, and in such a desperate struggle, countless people would be crushed.
The attendant was quite helpless and ultimately said nothing.
Severus glanced at it but said nothing. It was not a given that the Duke was manipulating Roman national policy, and the other party was merely making connections, which was within the rules, so there was no need to make a fuss.
“If Nigel is alright, then the rest are no big deal.” Severus leaned back on the throne, feeling much more at ease. After all, of the four dukes, Nigel was the most dangerous. Now that Nigel was focused on making money, Severus was relieved.
However, reality proved that Severus had put his mind at ease too soon.
The All-Roman Senate convened, and Valeriius, the legionary commander of the 20th Legion of the Eagles and the top enforcer under Gordian, Duke of the northern border, stood up and pointed directly at the Spanish region, declaring that they had resolved the shadow of Great Britain and that it was now time to quell the rebellion for Rome!
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