Unfortunately, due to space limitations, the war works of Sulla and Septimus were serialized into chapters to be published in the following newspapers.
Just then, Pompey suddenly noticed a line of bold text:
This newspaper will serialize several war chronicles in the coming days. If you would like your story to be published, contact us.
Pompey's expression visibly changed, and a wave of excitement overwhelmed him. How wonderful it would be if his own war chronicle could be published there!
Thinking about this, Pompey could no longer sit still. Should he discuss this matter with Septimus?
At that very moment, Pompey inadvertently discovered another piece of news:
The Roman consul Lepidus had formally sued Septimus, demanding a public apology and the cessation of the publication of the *Newspaper of Rome*.
The newspaper publicly condemned the accusations, claiming that it had not violated any Roman law and that the report published was true.
The text written in the newspaper also mentioned that they would present evidence in court and, if everything was true, they expected the consul to apologize.
Pompey visibly frowned.
He had not anticipated that his relationship with Septimus had deteriorated so drastically, even to the point of ending up in court.
Had he made the right decision by supporting Lepidus?
Pompey was not foolish and understood the great advantage the newspaper would have in directing and controlling public opinion.
The negative reports published in the newspaper severely damaged Lepidus' fame and reputation, and consequently Pompey, as his ally, would also be affected.
At that moment, a slave entered.
"Master, this is a wedding invitation sent by Sulla."
"A wedding invitation?"
Pompey displayed a gloomy expression as he carefully examined the invitation.
---
The newspaper reports had a strong impact on public opinion in Rome and the surrounding cities of the Italian Peninsula.
Lepidus and his faction desperately mobilized resources to reverse the negative impact.
From giving food and money to the people to funding temples and sponsoring gladiatorial games.
Lepidus carried out all kinds of activities in an attempt to improve his image among all Romans.
Do not be deceived by the seemingly powerful title of consul; it depends on whom you are facing.
In the original history, after Pompey's triumphant return from his eastern expedition, where he achieved three great victories, he sent someone to directly injure a consul, leaving him with psychological trauma.
The consul did not leave his house for months, while Pompey suffered no consequences whatsoever.
Septimus was not worried about the outcome of the case. He himself wielded considerable influence in the Roman Senate.
At least 40 senators owed him money, and together with Sulla's subordinates in the Senate, they were formidable opponents who completely overwhelmed Lepidus, so there was no possibility of losing.
Since Lepidus claimed that gathering evidence would take time, the court hearing would be held in three months. During this time, Septimus enjoyed his stay in the city of Rome.
In his residence in Rome, Septimus frowned.
A new problem had arisen in the region of Campania.
The warehouses crowded with short swords were showing signs of rust and deterioration.
Septimus relied on the stored weapons and military equipment to rapidly deploy 30 complete legions, but the rapid deterioration and rudimentary storage methods prevented the weapons from being preserved in the long term.
Fortunately for Septimus, the problem was discovered early, or the losses would have been considerable.
Rome had low productivity in its iron mines and depended too heavily on human labor.
On the other hand, Septimus was neither a mechanic nor an engineer and could not understand mechanical principles or apply them ingeniously to wooden machines in the style of Leonardo da Vinci.
The region of Campania did not have many iron mines, and production unfortunately did not satisfy Septimus' ambitions.
Most of the iron used to manufacture Roman weapons came primarily from the Island of Elba and Etruria in Italy, as well as from Hispania and Noricum, regions famous for the abundance and quality of their iron ore.
After every battle during the Roman civil war, the clone army invested a great deal of time and effort in collecting weapons and military equipment from the corpses.
The trade caravans composed of clones also did not stop their efforts to purchase weapons and the materials needed to manufacture them.
The steel industry in the region of Campania developed rapidly within the city of Decapitation.
The warehouses within the city could easily equip 30 clone legions.
The problem of rusted weapons could be solved by melting all the weapons into iron and processing them into new weapons that were slightly more durable.
On the other hand, the maintenance of shields and leather armor would be more cumbersome and would require considerable effort.
Management efficiency in the region of Campania was very high, and Septimus' brief thoughts were implemented quickly without the need to issue orders.
A thought or a good idea could be executed rapidly throughout the entire region without the need to ask questions.
Septimus briefly stopped thinking about the region of Campania and focused his attention on Sulla's wedding.
Sulla's wedding became the most important political event in the city of Rome.
Sulla showed magnanimity and even invited his political enemies as a display of influence and power.
The Romans understood politics, and hypocrisy among adversaries was very common.
Roman senators could conspire and attempt to kill their political enemies, yet they would display magnanimity in public and easily pretend friendship.
Sulla's wedding became an important political event in Rome.
Septimus was also curious about the type of marriage Sulla would choose.
In Rome, there were three types of marriage. The oldest was marriage by spelt bread, a practice among nobles.
The ancient Romans considered spelt wheat the most precious and ancient offering, which they dedicated to the gods.
According to this law, the wife lived only to please her husband, and he held absolute paternal authority over her.
The wife officially belonged to the man; she had no independent property rights, and all assets belonged exclusively to the husband.
The second type was marriage by purchase, in which the husband bought the wife for a small sum of money. This was mainly used for marriages among plebeians, since they had been forbidden from contracting marriage by spelt bread in ancient times. In a marriage by purchase, the husband also held absolute paternal authority.
The third type was common-law marriage, in which a man and a woman lived together continuously for one year, which was considered a legal marriage.
However, if a woman did not live with her husband for three nights each year, it meant that she was no longer under his control. This type of marriage became increasingly popular among Roman women, who used it to escape a position of submission to their husbands.
Sulla was a conservative nobleman, and Septimus was almost certain that he would choose the type of marriage selected by all nobles.
Septimus did not show much interest in marriage, but he was interested in the person who would officiate the ceremony.
The person chosen by Sulla to officiate the ceremony was Aurelia Cotta, the mother of Julius Caesar.
Aurelia came from the prestigious Cotta family of Rome, was the wife of the magistrate Gaius Julius Caesar, and the sister-in-law of the consul Lucius Julius Caesar.
Due to Septimus' influence, many people within Rome's upper-class circles believed that Aurelia was Septimus' lover.
Sulla also believed the rumor and did not hesitate to choose Aurelia to officiate the ceremony in an attempt to demonstrate closeness with his best general, Septimus.
Since the officiant of the ceremony had to be a woman who had given birth, Sulla chose Aurelia from among Septimus' known lovers.
Aurelia had a good character, and her reputation among the upper class was very good, with no major scandals apart from being Septimus' lover.
Sulla hoped that his new wife would learn from her and would not follow the example of those Roman noblewomen who had reputations for promiscuity.