Roman Slave Owner

Menenius's heart moved, and he remembered what someone had said to him in private not long ago.

The guards opened the cell and led him to the Temple of Jupiter.

Along the way, they attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

"Is he the prisoner who assassinated the patron of Apollo?"

"Yes, it must be him. The "Roman Daily" said that he has inconvenient legs, and he is a veteran who has made outstanding contributions to Rome."

"What outstanding feats, he is a bastard, how can he assassinate the patron of God Apollo?"

"Sidigus is a blasphemer at all. The prophet said that the military disasters in the south were caused by his blasphemy, and all this is not over yet."

"..."

As soon as the military disaster in the south was mentioned, many people who supported Sidhigus immediately fell silent.

Now is the time when Rome's national power is in full swing, but it is unscientific to lose to a slave rebel one after another.

All this can only be explained by the anger of the gods. Many people in this era believe in gods.

When he came outside the temple, he found that a large number of people were gathering here. At a glance, the number of people was at least five thousand.

Moreover, there were many familiar faces among these people, some people lined up outside the church to receive anti-fee food, and some people lived together in a charity relief home. In addition, there were also a large number of priests in the crowd. There were bursts of cheers.

"Menenius, well done, you have defended the glory of the true god, may the true god bless you."

"Menenius, you are the best, may God bless you."

"..."

The cheers were overwhelming, which moved Menenius very much. He had never thought that he was so welcomed, but it made the civilian tribune look pale.

"Get out of the way and don't get in the way."

snapped the tribune, and told the guards to cut a way.

But it was difficult to get them out of the way. The believers cursed and pushed them.

Others reached out to Menenius, hoping to shake his hand.

This made Menenius feel flattered or surprised. He shook hands with those people one by one, but he couldn't shake hands soon because there were too many people who wanted to shake hands with him.

At this time, he found several acquaintances in the crowd, Brutium and Cassia.

"Sidigus, I didn't expect you to do such a big thing."

Bruttim said with a complicated expression.

"I can't stay behind you all the time. Now I'm going to the Senate."

Menenius laughed.

Cassia's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had just cried.

"Sidigus, you have to be careful, God will bless you."

"Don't worry, this is all voluntary."

Menenius said.

"Father Varo asked me to tell you that the church has decided to add a charitable relief home, and this relief home will be named after you."

Cassia said.

"This is really nice..."

Menenius said that he did not expect that there would be a charitable rescue home named after himself, which he could not enjoy.

"In addition, the church is compiling "The Holy Biography of the Prophet", and your deeds will also be included in it, and will be admired by countless congregants in future generations."

Cassia continued.

Menenius was shocked. "I know."

Now even Bruttim looked at him enviously, this is a major event in the history of real celebrities.

He didn't know how he came to the Temple of Jupiter, and he was ignorant all the way.

After entering the temple, he found hundreds of elders sitting on their own seats, all staring at him, which made him feel extremely nervous.

"God, I praise you"

"Your righteousness is like a mountain"

"Your faithfulness reaches to the heavens"

"Your judgment is like an abyss"

"God, I praise you"

"..."

Just at this time,

There was a burst of singing outside the temple.

These singing voices became louder and louder, more and more uniform, appearing solemn and solemn.

Menenius' heart trembled, this is the hymn of the Holy Church.

He is not alone, there are millions or even tens of millions of believers standing behind him.

Thinking of this, he straightened his chest.

"what is that?"

"Anthem of the Holy Cult."

"They are really disgraceful. They assassinated Sidhigus and gathered so many people to support the perpetrator."

"Sidigus is a blasphemer of the holy religion, of course they have to support him."

"But he is also the patron of God Apollo, isn't the temple of Apollo organized manpower?"

"It's organized, but how many people can be organized by the priests at that point, they are all squeezed out."

"..."

All the elders whispered, the Senate was as noisy as a vegetable market.

Metellus frowned, his face was ashen, the Holy Cult was too arrogant.

"Everyone, be quiet! Be quiet!"

Luculus said loudly.

After listening to Luculus' words, the Senate gradually became quiet.

After many compromises, the Senate meeting was presided over by Lucullus.

"I declare now that the session of the Senate is officially opened. The subject of this session is the trial of Menenius' assassination of the tribune Sidigus. Senator Metellus, do you have any questions? "

Luculus said.

Metellus stood up and cast his falcon-like eyes on Menenius, putting tremendous pressure on Menenius.

If it was before, Menenius would have been afraid, but now the chants outside gave him infinite courage.

"Menenius, you are a Roman citizen and a veteran, why did you assassinate the tribune Sidhigus?"

Metellus asked with a serious face.

"Because he was a blasphemer, he committed a capital crime."

Menenius said flatly.

"Did you know that assassinating a tribune of the populace is a capital offense?"

"Know!"

"Do I know that he is the patron of Apollo, the sun god?"

"Know!"

Seeing that Menenius confessed, the Senate started talking again.

"Who said you assassinated him?"

"No one ordered."

"You lied! What kind of benefits did he give you, and asked you to hide it for him!"

Metellus said angrily, staring at him with both eyes, trying to put pressure on him.

"I object! Metellus is trying to induce a confession."

Serapio said angrily.

"I didn't lie. When I was in prison yesterday, someone told me that as long as I could get hold of Li Wei, I would treat my wife and children generously."

Menenius said sarcastically.

Hearing this, the Senate was in an uproar, and did not expect such a thing to happen.

Serabio and the others stared at Metellus, they were definitely the ones who did this.

"Who said those words?"

Metellus said.

"Those words were written on a little note in the meal."

Menenius said.

"I think this matter should be investigated strictly."

Metellus said righteously, and then quickly changed the subject: "As far as I know, you are a homeless man. You don't even have enough to eat. Where did you get the money to buy the dagger?"

"It was given by Father Valo. I was sick at the time, and he asked me to use the money to see a doctor."

"Why did he give you money? Did he say anything to encourage you to assassinate?"

"Because he is a benevolent person, he never said anything to ask me to assassinate him."

"Can you repeat what you said at that time?"

Menenius pondered for a while, and repeated what he said at the time, and added: "At that time, I dreamed of heaven, where the rivers flowed with milk and honey, where there was endless food, and countless beauties surrounded me. around."

"I think all of this is the will of the true god, and it is the true god who wants to use my hands to kill Sidhigus."

There was a gleam of joy in the eyes of Serabio and others, this is the best publicity for the holy religion.

Metellus grasped another point, "You mean Father Valo told you that you can go to heaven as long as you kill Sidiousus?"

"That's right."

A smile appeared on Metellus's face: "Seniors, I think Father Varo is suspected of instigating Menenius to assassinate Sidious, so Father Varo should be summoned."

"I object! Killing a blasphemer can go to heaven is something that many believers know. This is not abetment at all."

Serapio said immediately.

"But killing a tribune of the populace is a capital offense, and you Holy Faith cannot do that."

"I said a long time ago that the oracle of the holy religion should be treated as the law. This is all because of you."

"This is absolutely impossible, we just need to follow the Delphic oracle."

"..."

After a whole day of quarreling, the senate meeting was finally over.

Finally, it was decided that Menenius would be tried in public three market days later, and Serabio and others did not object.

***

***

In southern Italy, a huge army is marching south. This is the Spartacus uprising army.

In the process of going south, I don't know how many villages and towns were destroyed by them along the way, and there were several cities besides them.

A large number of slaves joined their ranks, and their number has increased to more than 80,000.

Moreover, more slaves are continuously flowing into this rebel army from all directions, further increasing their number.

Spartacus and Sarah were riding together on the same horse. Spartacus gently put his arms around Sarah's waist, and Sarah had a gentle look on her face.

Li Wei finally returned Sarah to him, and paid him a large ransom to redeem all the Roman captives.

The two spoke affectionately, and they had never felt so happy.

"Where are we going?"

Sarah asked.

"Turi City, the army needs a place to spend the winter. That place is good, it is relatively south, and the weather is warm. And I hope to use Turi City to make some transactions and spend all the money in our hands in exchange for the weapons we need. , food and herbs.”

Spartacus said, while gently sniffing her fragrance.

"Will they agree to trade with you?"

Sarah said with a worried face.

"If they disagree, I will launch an army to attack Turi City. I believe they will make a wise decision."

Spartacus smiled disdainfully.

"That's a good idea."

Sarah said.

At this moment, Kress came over with a few people.

His face was full of anger, looking at Spartacus as if looking at an enemy, which made Sara couldn't help frowning slightly.

"Spartacus, is this your order? Let everyone hand over the stolen money, and no one is allowed to keep the money in private."

Kress said angrily holding a notice.

"Yes, I remember talking to you about it the other day."

Spartacus said.

"I said it too, I never agree!"

Kress said.

"Kress, we are still very dangerous now. The money is of no use to us, it is better to exchange them for supplies that are useful to us."

Spartacus said.

"I will never obey this shitty order!"

Kress said angrily, "I'm going to take my people away!"

Spartacus looked at him in shock, "Kress, are you really going to do this? If we separate, our strength will be weakened."

"I'm not afraid of the Romans? They're a bunch of ruffians, and I'll beat them to the ground."

After saying that, Kress spat hard, and left here.

"Aren't you going to keep him?"

Sarah asked.

"It's fine to leave, I know many people can't accept this order, why not let them leave with Kress."

Spartacus said, "At least we will support each other, we are all enemies of Rome."

Sarah shook her head, but finally said nothing.

In the end, Kress left with some people, the number of them was about 20,000, and Spartacus also acquiesced to this.

The two armies arrived at Turi City one after the other, and the army surrounded Turi City.

Faced with the coercion and temptation of the rebel army, Turi City finally agreed to donate a lot of wealth, and at the same time was willing to make transactions with them and purchase various weapons and materials for them.

***

***

In the city of Rome, melodious horns sounded from the city walls.

A large number of people came out from various charitable aid homes, from churches, and from various places, and then converged on the Mars Square outside Rome.

Today is the day of the trial of Menenius. Due to the special status of Sidhigus, a large number of people participated in this citizen meeting. They talked a lot, some cursed Menenius, while others praised him.

People fall into two camps. Some even quarreled.

Old Annius had white hair and beard, and was wearing a red cardinal uniform, looking extraordinarily energetic.

As Li Wei's plenipotentiary envoy, he had arrived in Rome a few days ago, and Serabio and other senators and officials were surrounded by him wearing lace-up toga.

"What do you think our chances of winning this time are?"

said old Annius.

"Less than 40%. Although our mobilization ability is stronger, many people have come to participate in the citizen assembly. But our people are still too small, and we are not an opponent of the Roman Catholic Church."

Serabio said, "Why don't the masters mobilize their own retainers and tenants? With their participation, we will surely win."

Old Annius glanced at him indifferently, "The prophet has his own concerns."

"Do you not want to have a full-scale conflict with the Roman Catholic Church?"

Serabio said.