Upon seeing the growing crowd, Lepidus restrained his anger, took out a newspaper, and pointed at an article.
"Did you write this article?"
"Yes," the clone guard replied indifferently.
"Why are you insulting the honor of a great Roman consul?" Lepidus roared furiously.
"The *Rome Daily* publishes the truth, and it is backed by General Septimus," the clone guard said calmly with an indifferent expression.
"Septimus, so it really was him," Lepidus muttered through gritted teeth. He had suspected it when he saw the disciplined guards with their indifferent expressions.
Septimus was famous for being a great general and for training legionaries into killing machines.
"Your newspaper must cease publication," Lepidus said firmly. His reputation as a nobleman must not be tarnished.
"I cannot make that decision. You can go speak to General Septimus," the clone guard said seriously.
"I don't care. Shut this newspaper down!" Lepidus said angrily.
Lepidus' entourage advanced with the intention of forcing their way into the newspaper office, but the clone guards stepped forward with wooden batons and stopped them.
"What are you doing?"
"Get out of my way!"
"This is the territory of our patriarch. Who gave you permission to enter?"
"Get out of my way!"
"..."
Lepidus' entourage stopped, but they began arguing with the clone guards.
The fame of Septimus' legionaries was well known throughout Rome, and Lepidus' guards did not dare provoke them.
The argument quickly attracted the attention of many curious onlookers.
The clone guards stood upright like statues while Lepidus' entourage shouted in an attempt to force their way through.
Just then, a voice came from outside.
"What is going on here?"
Everyone turned to look at a middle-aged man wearing a red cloak.
"It's the tribune!" someone exclaimed excitedly.
It was indeed a Tribune of the Plebs who supported Sulla's faction. Since Sulla was concerned about the problems the newspaper might face, he had kept him near the newspaper office during the past few days, and his premonition had been confirmed.
Sulla knew about the crude methods of Septimus' legionaries, and the chances of an armed conflict breaking out were very high.
The Tribune of the Plebs would be responsible for preventing the escalation of the conflict.
The murmurs of the surrounding crowd were loud, and the Tribune of the Plebs quickly understood the situation.
"Consul Lepidus, is it true that you want to shut down the newspaper?" the Tribune of the Plebs asked while looking at Lepidus.
"Yes, they have defamed my reputation. Of course I will shut them down."
Upon seeing his arrival, Lepidus knew he was out of luck, but he still spoke defiantly.
"Who gave you the authority to close this place? Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're consul," the Tribune of the Plebs said disdainfully.
Lepidus became furious, but he admitted that the tribune was right.
The greatest power of the Tribunes of the Plebs, besides participating in the legislation of the citizens' assembly, was their right of veto.
Any Tribune of the Plebs could indefinitely veto any decision made by consuls and senators (except during wartime), regardless of the legitimacy of the order.
Furthermore, the Tribune of the Plebs possessed sacred status.
Anyone who harmed a tribune, for any reason, would be sentenced to death; exile was unthinkable.
Tribunes often used their sacred status to do astonishing things, such as blocking voting channels to prevent people from voting, or blocking the door of your house and imprisoning you inside.
On the other hand, although Septimus did not have any Tribune of the Plebs under his command, no one dared to trouble him.
Septimus was known for showing few scruples, and Tribunes of the Plebs were not immune to assassination.
Lepidus' expression quickly turned gloomy.
"You'll see. I guarantee that you will regret this," Lepidus said sternly before slipping away.
The empty threat was directed at the Tribune of the Plebs.
Lepidus was not a fool and did not want to offend Septimus.
Lepidus' previous outburst had been part of his anger, and he had no intention of completely antagonizing a madman who did not follow the rules like Septimus.
The Tribune of the Plebs said his farewell and also withdrew after the departure of Lepidus and his entourage.
Inside a large hall.
Septimus was sitting on a sofa while enjoying the company of the Purchel sisters.
Septimus' current life was the dream of every Roman.
Two noble ladies from a distinguished family served Septimus enthusiastically.
Reclining on the sofa, Septimus analyzed Lepidus' actions and the confrontation at the newspaper.
Due to the interference of Lepidus and other Roman nobles, Septimus had been unable to obtain Rome's support to eliminate piracy in the Mediterranean.
Ship construction was progressing slowly, and covering the entire Mediterranean with ships would be a difficult task for the current region of Campania.
Pirates were like lice; all of them had to be eliminated because leaving one group alive meant another proliferation of more pirates.
Lepidus was preventing Rome's support for ending piracy, and Septimus was taking revenge by damaging his reputation through the newspaper.
Rome's consuls valued their reputations, and damaging them was a vulnerable point to strike.
Sitting on the sofa, Septimus informed the two Purchel sisters about the entire situation.
"What do you think Lepidus will do?" Septimus asked while stroking the soft back of the Purchel sister sitting on his left.
"I believe the two most likely methods are these: one is to sue us, and the other is to convene a citizens' assembly," said the noble Purchel with a thoughtful expression.
Being of noble birth, she was quite familiar with how Rome functioned.
"She is right. Submitting this matter to the Senate is useless. Sulla's Tribunes of the Plebs can veto Senate proposals at any time. So he can only sue us first. If the lawsuit fails, he may appeal to the citizens' assembly, demanding the closure of the newspaper," said the Purchel sister reclining on Septimus' right.
The most important function of a consul was to lead troops in battle. In addition, they presided over various assemblies, performed divinations, and so on.
Disputes between Roman citizens were resolved by the praetor.
The number of praetors in Rome was constantly increasing.
Previously there had only been six, but after Sulla's conquest of Rome, he increased the number to eight.
One praetor specifically handled disputes between Roman citizens, another handled disputes between Roman citizens and foreigners, and the rest mainly resolved disputes involving people from the provinces.
The Senate, in essence, was merely an advisory body; it lacked coercive power. Only when combined with the authority of the Tribunes of the Plebs did the Senate possess immense power.
Septimus had at his disposal a Tribune of the Plebs who could veto Senate resolutions, a formidable power.
In the original history, during Caesar's campaign in Gaul, the Roman Senate resolved to remove Caesar from his military command, but this decision was directly vetoed by the Tribunes of the Plebs.
The powerless Roman Senate could only wait for the tribunes' terms to expire before dissolving Caesar's military command.
The consequence was that Caesar crossed the Rubicon and marched on Rome, unleashing the Roman Civil War.
"Do you think he can succeed?" Septimus asked with mild curiosity.
"It is difficult to say, since newspapers did not exist before. But if we can get the jury on our side, we will be invincible," said the Purchel sister lying to Septimus' left.
Septimus nodded. Since Sulla became dictator for life, he had reformed the jury system, allowing only senators of the Roman Senate to serve as jurors.
To balance the power of the nobles and the elites, he filled the Roman Senate with a large number of elites, so that only nobles and elites could become members of a jury.
"It seems I need to pressure Sulla to provide more support and persuade those senators who may become members of the jury," Septimus said with interest.
Sulla would probably be very willing to help, since the person who hated Lepidus the most was definitely not him, but Sulla.
As Septimus expected, after returning, Lepidus immediately filed a lawsuit in court.
With the instincts of a politician, Lepidus clearly felt that newspapers would cause him great harm, so he had to sue Septimus as quickly as possible.
Upon seeing the summons personally delivered by a praetor, Levi could not help but show interest; he had not expected it to happen so quickly.
Although the man delivering the notice was a praetor, he handled disputes between Roman citizens and foreigners, not as the presiding judge.
"The presiding judge this time is Cassius Longinus, one of Sulla's men, so we do not need to worry. The main concern is the jury; their decision is final," the praetor said respectfully.
Septimus showed interest and calmly read the notice.
A mere Lepidus dared challenge him; it was very amusing.
Now Septimus' power was deeply rooted and no longer comparable to that of the small elite of Capua.
Inside Pompey's villa, Demetrius entered carrying a newspaper.
"This is today's newspaper."
Pompey nodded and sat down.
Newspapers were the hottest topic in Rome, and Pompey, knowing it was Septimus' publication, bought several copies to take a look.
Upon discovering that the first edition contained reports about *The Jugurthine Wars* and *The New Conqueror of Africa and Numidia—Septimus*, Pompey was greatly surprised.
These two works respectively narrated the wars of Sulla and Septimus, recounting their campaigns in Africa.
Pompey devoured them with great interest; as a general, he was extremely fascinated by such writings.
.......
I'm back... I'll be publishing four chapters a week... I've settled into my work schedule now and can use my free time to write.