Roman Slave Owner

"Next, I announce a vote. Those who agree to pass this resolution, please stand on my left hand, and those who oppose the passage of this resolution, please stand on my right hand."

said Lucias.

The elders left their seats one after another and stood on both sides of him. Li Wei found to his dismay that there were more people who opposed than those who supported, and there were many more.

Li Wei glanced at Pompey, but Pompey didn't seem to notice his gaze, and was still looking ahead indifferently.

"Now I announce that the number of people who support it is 219, and the number of people who oppose it is 268. This resolution has not been passed."

Lucias said with a bitter face.

There was a burst of cheers immediately in the Senate, especially Keller, as if he had escaped a catastrophe of life and death.

Li Wei snorted coldly, "It's just dying to earn money. If you have the ability, you should never hold a citizen meeting."

If you don't convene, I will obey you.

Just as he was about to leave, a civilian tribune said loudly: "Everyone wait a minute, I also have a proposal that I hope can be voted on by the Senate."

Li Wei took a look at him, he seemed to be a civilian tribune of the Metellus faction, what kind of moth were they trying to do?

Everyone sat back to their seats, and the civilian tribune stood on the podium and began to speak.

"Dear elders, and Consul Li Wei. Recently, I discovered a phenomenon that there are more and more crusaders everywhere. Can Consul Li Wei tell me why?"

asked the tribune of the populace.

Li Wei was stunned. He didn't expect him to ask such a question. This is what he has been trying to cover up. Even in Rome, he made many people wear civilian clothes.

He thought for a while and said, "The reason is very simple. I hope that after becoming governor, I can expand the territory for Rome again, so I recruited some crusaders."

"So Consul Li Wei, how many crusaders have you recruited?"

asked the tribune.

"You don't need to know that."

Li Wei said coldly.

"As far as I know, you plan to recruit 4 legions of crusaders this time, so that all the crusaders will reach 8 legions in total, isn't that true?"

The civil tribune said proudly, as if he had grabbed Li Wei's sore foot.

The elders were in an uproar, they never thought that Li Wei had recruited so many crusaders.

"Crusader of 8 legions, what is he going to do?"

"If you ask me, it's basically a rebellion."

"What rebellion? Don't falsely accuse Consul Li Wei."

"Why did he recruit so many crusaders when he wasn't rebelling? The money was too much to burn."

"..."

Li Wei ignored everyone's comments and looked at him coldly, "You don't need to know this."

The tribune of the populace was very angry with him, he was an arrogant fellow, but he quickly calmed down his anger.

"Dear senators, as we all know, even the governor can't go to war around at will. We understand the good intentions of Consul Li Wei to expand the territory, but his ideas are wrong. And I think that the crusaders of the 8 legions The security of Rome has been seriously threatened, and I think all crusaders should be disbanded."

"That's great, disband the Crusaders."

"Firmly opposed, the existence of the Crusaders is to protect the holy religion, and the Crusaders made great achievements in the Spartacus Rebellion."

"The holy religion doesn't need their protection, and our Roman God religion doesn't have anyone to protect it."

"..."

Those elders said one after another, they insisted on their own opinions, and soon quarreled.

"Elder Metellus, what is your opinion?"

asked the tribune of the populace.

Seeing that the questioning session was soon to be entered, Li Wei couldn't help frowning. It seemed that the enemy was well prepared, but he thought that the resolution of the Senate could restrain him.

Have you been so law-abiding that the enemy has done so many things?

Levi thought.

"I think this is a good statement. Now that Rome is at peace, why do we need so many troops? These troops will only become a threat to Rome. And Roman law does not give the governor the right to go to war at will, unless our friends are attacked or citizens Authorized by the General Assembly, I firmly oppose such an act of preparing for war before taking office."

Metellus said with a smile.

"Old Dolabella, what's your opinion?"

"I firmly oppose it. The Crusaders are an important force for Rome to maintain peace and stability..."

Dorabella said.

All the elders spoke one after another, but Li Wei was already far away.

He knew that he probably couldn't stop this proposal, so what should he do?

Cicero and the others were extremely anxious, and they vehemently expressed their opposition, but it was of no use.

Sure enough, it didn't take long for the voting results to come out.

208:279, Li Wei lost again.

A smile appeared on Metellus's face, as if he had won a great victory.

As long as the Crusaders are disbanded, Li Wei is likely to lose the absolute advantage of the Citizens' Assembly, and their family will be saved.

There was thunderous applause in the Senate, and many people were joking. They were very happy to see Li Wei's deflated scene.

"Consul Li Wei, I hope you can abide by the resolution of the Senate and disband the Crusaders as soon as possible."

The civilian tribune said with a smile on his face.

Li Wei looked at him coldly, without speaking.

"I veto this resolution as a civilian tribune. The existence of the Crusaders has great significance and must not be disbanded casually."

said Lucias.

"I object. The purpose of setting up the tribunes of the people is to protect individuals from being bullied by the government and nobles. The tribunes of the people should not veto this kind of Senate resolution."

At this time, an elder said.

Lucias glanced at it coldly. If you say that you should not veto it, you should not veto it. My veto right is completely reasonable and legal, why not use it.

"Since Lucias vetoed this resolution, let all the tribunes of the populace express their opinions. As a tribune of the people, I vetoed Lucias' proposal. I think the resolution of the Senate should be implemented. .”

The civilian tribunes on the podium did not show any anger, but instead had a look of confidence in the victory, which made Lucias feel bad for a while.

"I support Lucias' decision."

"I object to the decision of Lucias."

"I object to the decision of Lucias."

"..."

A number of civilian tribunes expressed their opinions, and the result was 4:4. Only one civilian tribune did not speak, and that was Pompey's good friend Gabinius.

Li Wei's eyes were condensed slightly. Unexpectedly, they secretly recruited a civilian tribune, and then looked at Gabinius.

Under everyone's gaze, Gabinius glanced at Pompey, who closed his eyes expressionlessly.

"As tribune plebs, I overrule Lysias."

Gabinius said.

Seeing this, Cicero and the others were shocked.

Gabinius actually rejected Lysias. Does this mean that Pompey has rebelled?

"Now I declare that 5 tribunes of the populace supported the resolution of the Senate, and 4 opposed the resolution of the tribunes of the people against the resolution of the Senate. The resolution of the Senate came into force."

The tribune of the populace on the podium said triumphantly.

There was only a bang, and the Senate once again burst into thunderous applause.

Someone shouted excitedly as if they had won a big battle.

They all looked at Li Wei, only to find that Li Wei looked at Pompey coldly.

Pompey also looked at him quietly, neither of them spoke, but they both understood what the other meant.

"very good!"

Li Wei suddenly laughed, and he suddenly realized that he had failed so much that he was betrayed by everyone.

Now that you've come to this point, play it in your own way.

Li Wei stood up, glanced at the elders and said, "I will not abide by this resolution of the Senate."

Hearing this, the Senate was in an uproar.

"Li Wei, you can't do this."

"The resolution of the Senate must be obeyed."

"..."

Seeing the clamor of the elders, Li Wei smiled lightly: "However, I will submit this resolution to the Citizens' Assembly. As long as the Citizens' Assembly supports the disbandment of the Crusades, then I will immediately disband the Crusades."

Hearing this, the faces of all the elders changed, and they almost cursed out loud.

Now the citizens' assembly is almost your private plot, and it's not up to you to actually submit it to the citizens' assembly.

"In addition, I have always longed to be a law-abiding person, but some people always regard my law-abiding as weak and deceitful, which makes me very disappointed."

Li Wei said with a smile.

Both Pompey and Metellus changed their faces drastically. What does he mean by this?

A law-abiding Li Wei is scary enough. Once he doesn't obey the law, it will be a disaster for Rome. You must know that now he uses the cross of 8 legions and nearly 10,000 dragon city guards.

"Li Wei, what do you want to do?"

One of the elders said in fear.

Li Wei snorted coldly and left the Senate without answering a word. He decided to play the next game according to his own ideas.

Cicero and the others wanted to follow, but Li Wei refused, and now he wants to be quiet.

After returning home, Emilia was teasing Appius.

She found that Li Wei's expression was very bad, so she asked, "What's wrong with you."

"nothing."

Li Wei smiled, but after being with Li Wei for so many years, she still found the far-fetchedness in Li Wei's smile.

Li Wei walked up to Appius, who was wearing crotch pants, which Li Wei personally designed for him.

He grabbed Li Wei's pants and gritted, "Dad...Dad."

Li Wei picked him up, kissed him lightly and said, "I am very humble, our peaceful life may be coming to an end."

"Did something happen?"

Emilia asked.

"I may have to take a little impulsiveness, but it is much less risky than entering Rome."

Levi said.

Emilia looked at him quietly, and said softly: "Don't worry, I will support you no matter what happens."

Li Wei hugged Emilia fiercely, and told her what he was holding back in his heart.

"From the first day I knew him, I knew that our friendship would not last. I know myself better than him. He is proud and unwilling to be inferior to anyone. He will sacrifice everything for honor. Now He finally betrayed me."

"You mean... Pompey?"

Emilia asked.

"Yes. He betrayed me. I still value a guy, but that guy doesn't know it. I think he might betray me too."

"Who is that guy?"

Emilia said very curiously, there are not many times like Li Wei who is willing to confide in his heart.

"His name is Caesar."

Li Wei said with a smile.

"How could it be him? Is there anything special about him?"

Emilia exclaimed.

Caesar is just a down-and-out nobleman, and now he is just a small financial officer. She understands why Li Wei attaches so much importance to Caesar.

"You don't understand, he is even more powerful than Pompeo."

Levi said.

Emilia's eyes lit up. Li Wei's supernatural powers are well known in Rome. Could it be that the true god told him?

"Then why do you still help him, why don't you destroy him?"

Emilia said.

"Life is lonely, there are too few people who can be my enemy."

Levi said.

Emily looked at him dumbfounded. If it wasn't for Li Wei in front of her, she would definitely scold him for bragging.

But she firmly remembered this sentence, Caesar?

***

***

The senate meeting passed smoothly, but many people smelled something ominous.

Pompey contacted some of his veterans and transferred them to Rome. Some Roman dignitaries sent their children out and let them take refuge in other places.

Although Rome is peaceful on the surface, it is actually full of undercurrents.

A closed-door meeting is being held in a room in the Vatican. In addition to several of Li Wei's hardcore veterans, there is also his butler Valens.

Since the formation of the Crusaders required too much material support from Dragon City, Li Wei temporarily transferred him from Dragon City.

"We have recruited 3 legions of crusaders, and more are still being recruited. Their weapons and armor are ready, ballistas and tents are all in place, which cost us about 2.2 million dinars."

Valens said.

Li Wei nodded, and now his industry has spread across all walks of life.

These weapons, armor and various materials are all made by themselves, otherwise it may cost more money.

"Soon we will have 8 legions of crusaders and more than 8,000 dragon city guards. Such a large army will cost about 10 million dinars a year just for salaries. In addition to the various materials and food consumed, at least It costs 15 million dinars, and it will cost more if we go to war. If we really fight for five years, we will probably go bankrupt and we have to do everything we can to save money."

Valens said.

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but look at each other, they didn't expect to spend so much.

However, this is mainly due to the fact that food and housing are included, and ordinary Roman soldiers need to pay for their own food.

The Crusaders not only had food and housing included, but also had higher salaries than ordinary Roman soldiers. Li Wei spent almost as much as raising two ordinary Roman legions for one legion.

"I think it's best to settle the Metellus thing as soon as possible, as the frequent cancellations of the Citizens' Assembly keeps the Crusaders constantly running around. Combined with the cold weather in winter, which may cause frostbite to the soldiers, this will greatly increase our expenses. .”

Valens said.