The atmosphere of the meeting became tense.
Sulla gave a brief speech and assigned the strategic objectives to all the generals.
The situation of Lucius Scipio and the angry shouts of Metellus made the previously cheerful mood over the reinforcements turn uncomfortable.
The generals who wanted to ingratiate themselves with Septimus decided to wait for another moment.
On the other hand, after hearing his strategic objectives, Septimus greeted everyone present and withdrew.
Septimus had brought five legions, causing him to be assigned to protect or attack two sides of the city of Rome.
Half of the siege of the city was the responsibility of Septimus's army.
Sulla's army, located on the outskirts of the city of Rome, had recovered its initial number of troops.
The nobles and generals within the city of Rome became aware of the arrival of Septimus's army.
The city of Rome was controlled by the two consuls Norbanus and Carbo, with important figures leading the army, the most prominent being Marius the Younger, the one-eyed Sertorius, and Marcus Marius.
Marcus Marius Gratidianus was a nephew of Marius who in recent years had gradually gained prestige, becoming a distinguished figure in Rome.
Marcus Marius's most notable achievement was a reform of the Roman monetary system during his tenure as a financial magistrate. He established a method to detect counterfeit coins and stabilize the value of the denarius during a time of economic crisis.
This measure was so popular that the people erected statues in Rome in his honor. He was considered a public benefactor, something very unusual for a magistrate.
While the morale of Sulla's army increased with the arrival of reinforcements from Septimus and the constant news of Roman cities being conquered by the armies of Pompey and Lucullus,
On the other hand, the situation within the city of Rome was very pessimistic; since the defeat at Capua, the Roman army had no confidence in defeating Sulla.
Many nobles within the city of Rome contemplated the idea of surrender.
The neutral faction led by Scipio Nasica was the most eager to remain on the sidelines of the war.
Scipio Nasica hated Septimus for the betrayal against his family, but the circumstances, as patriarch of the entire family, forced him to seek a dignified way out.
Sulla's faction was now winning battle after battle and was very powerful, while the future of the faction of Cinna and Marius was bleak.
Nasica knew perfectly well the deep hatred that Sulla had toward the followers of Marius and Cinna, who had organized the army to conquer Rome while Sulla was campaigning in the East.
If Sulla managed to conquer Rome, whatever his plans, they would not harm him.
On the contrary, if Nasica managed to surrender and assist Sulla in conquering the city, he could gain enough merit to preserve the safety of his family.
Nasica's idea was supported by most of his relatives and trusted friends.
"We have killed so many relatives and friends of Sulla and his generals; how can such a blood vengeance be abandoned so easily? Sulla may hold a grudge against us!" said a senator friend of Nasica with a fearful expression.
"This is a blood vengeance that has nothing to do with us," Nasica replied expressionlessly.
The last years of Rome had been characterized by periods of intermittent anarchy.
The neutral faction was not very involved in the purges against the friends or relatives of Sulla and his generals. Although some members, motivated by greed, participated in the looting, they were merely part of the crowd seeking advantage.
Nasica and his followers reached an agreement quickly; they only awaited the opportunity to surrender.
A month passed quickly.
With Carbo's prestige as consul, the voices advocating for peace talks were confined within a small circle of Roman nobles.
Some ostentatious nobles who spoke without discretion were even killed.
However, with the arrival of winter, both sides tacitly agreed to a truce.
Lacking warm clothing, Sulla's army established winter camps and spent the season there. Septimus also returned to the Decapitator City with his personal guard to spend the winter.
Septimus had specially built a palace called the Winter Palace, designed entirely for winter within the Decapitator City.
In the fireplace of the adjacent hall, a large amount of firewood crackled and burned, expelling smoke from the rooms through the chimney.
Additionally, Septimus had constructed radiant floors that extended to all the rooms and even to the bed.
The entire palace and the radiant floors were warm, and the external cold was completely imperceptible.
Although Septimus's women had experienced the radiant floors and underfloor heating that Septimus had long described, the beautiful women felt incredibly amazed.
Winters were usually incredibly harsh, and the hands or feet of many women often froze, but this year they were perfectly fine.
Septimus was embracing two beautiful women while thinking about the state of medicine in ancient Rome.
Medical conditions in Rome were truly terrible.
A woman's first pregnancy was practically a matter of life or death; if there was a difficult labor, it could result in the death of both mother and child. For example, Pompey's second wife died in childbirth, and Caesar's daughter also died in childbirth after marrying Pompey.
Furthermore, cesarean sections were not performed, and even if they had been, treating inflammation would have been a major problem.
Septimus had basic knowledge of how to produce penicillin using traditional methods, but its effectiveness was very poor; at times, it was practically gambling with life.
Additionally, the infant mortality rate was high, and Septimus did not want his children to die young.
Therefore, he decided to establish a medical school, where midwives would be trained and methods for preserving health would be experimented with.
Although Septimus was not a doctor, he knew far more than current physicians, and his ability to gather information was more efficient.
The lack of medical conditions and medicines also affected the clones.
In recent years, some clones had died from common flu or from lack of medicines.
Roman clothing was extremely simple; in addition to the toga, in winter they only wore a wool cloak on top.
Whether poor or powerful, everyone dressed this way.
Although cotton fabric was now available, it was mainly used for ship awnings.
If it were not for Septimus's need to prevent the clones from getting sick, it would have taken a long time before cotton fabric was widely used for clothing.
Wearing such clothing in the snow could even allow the clones to walk on a snowy day without catching a cold.
In fact, making cotton-padded clothing is not difficult. If you can make cotton fabric, the difficulty of making cotton-padded clothing is zero.
In addition to the cotton fabric used for the outer layer, the main component of cotton-padded garments is the filling: cotton.
First, the cotton seeds must be removed, which is not difficult.
Then, the cotton must be fluffed, a process known as cotton carding. This fluffed cotton can be used as filling for garments and quilts.
After fluffing, the cotton can be rolled into long strips using wooden boards, then spun on a spinning wheel and finally woven to make cotton fabric. Septimus chose two of these cotton-padded garments, one red and one black. He immediately put on the black one.
Septimus was satisfied; he could finally wear cotton-padded clothing and no longer had to use those ridiculous blankets.
A slave carefully fastened the coat; the buttons were made of bronze, and as for zippers, current technology simply could not produce them.
Septimus now wore a cotton undergarment, then a wool sweater, and finally the cotton-padded coat; at least he had an idea of what was to come.
Although there was no mirror, Septimus could observe himself through the eyes of his clones.
The Roman civil war would last one or two more years, and the situation in the region of Campania was calming down.