"Sons of Rome!"
I looked at the men before me.
All of them looked anxious and angry.
They had left Rome for years, risking their lives to fight barbarians, only to end up with nothing.
Even I would have been angry.
"Even the stray cats of Rome have a roof to escape the rain! Yet what remains for you, who have planted the flag of Rome in Hispania, the rough seas of the Mediterranean, and the far reaches of the East?"
With everyone's eyes focused on me, I continued to shout.
"Without your blood and sweat, the peace and prosperity Rome enjoys today would not exist! You *are* Rome itself!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
The soldiers raised their hands and roared in approval.
But this still wasn't enough.
I slowly raised my hand and waited for the noise to subside.
It was easy to criticize the Senate for not passing the land bill.
But doing so would result in a head-on collision with the Senate.
I wasn't foolish enough to repeat the exact path of the Gracchi brothers.
"The esteemed senators must govern the entirety of Rome, so it takes a long time and careful verification to pass even a single law. How could we possibly fathom the wisdom and profound intentions of the Senate?"
I raised my hand again to stop the soldiers' jeers.
"But I know this! I know that right now, you need money to pay rent and buy bread for your starving families."
Pausing for a moment, I walked across the rostrum.
If there was one advantage to having lived in the 21st century, it was the ability to watch countless speeches on video.
Giving a speech was on a completely different level from simply reading words off a page.
Where to pause, when to wave a hand—these minute details determined the outcome of a speech.
And I'd had the chance to watch countless speeches from dictators like Hitler to FDR, JFK, and Churchill.
What better teachers could I ask for?
"How could taking care of those who devoted themselves to the Republic be the responsibility of the Senate alone? Merchants and businessmen who earned money in a peaceful Rome ought to share that wealth with the heroes who protected the Republic.
Therefore, I have decided to be the first to open my purse."
I waited until all the soldiers understood my meaning.
They probably didn't know exactly what that meant yet.
"The great General Pompey has given you the glory of victory! I, Lucius Julius Caesar, will give you a tomorrow without hunger!"
As I shouted that, I pointed to Pompey.
He gave a slight nod, as if to show his support.
"Starting today, I will hire over five hundred new workers.
I will give priority to you veterans, and I will set aside a portion of the Palmolive profits to establish a fund! This fund will help ensure veterans and their families have enough to eat."
The moment I finished, the soldiers began to murmur.
"He's going to hire workers from among us?"
"A fund? What on earth is that?"
"He's giving a portion of the Palmolive profits to us? Why would Lucius Caesar do that?"
It must have been hard for them to understand.
A young noble with no connection to them had suddenly made such a proposal.
But how would my proposal sound to them?
These countless legionaries had returned from years-long campaigns but received no reward.
They had come to the Forum clinging only to the hope of receiving back pay and land.
It must have been days filled with frustration and despair.
And I had just given them new hope.
"You have traversed the deserts and seas of the East, elevating the glory of Rome! Now, you must build the future of Rome!"
I paused for a moment.
I was out of breath, probably from shouting nonstop.
At this rate, I was going to collapse first.
But it wasn't over yet.
Now it was time to land the final blow.
"The Republic has demanded your blood and sweat until now. But let me ask you differently! What must this Rome, which you protected with your blood, offer you in return?!"
A brief silence fell.
The previously noisy Forum was so quiet you could barely hear anyone breathe.
Did I go too far with that last line?
Just as I was worrying, one man raised his hand and shouted.
"Caesar!"
Others quickly joined in.
"Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!"
The cheers spread like a wave and soon covered the entire Forum.
I waved my hand toward them and then approached Pompey standing beside the rostrum.
"The Senate won't find anything to take issue with in your speech, Lucius. You announced that you are using your personal funds to support the veterans, after all."
"The Senate probably expected us to demand the land bill today."
I replied.
But what I announced was completely different from what the Senate expected.
Just like when I debated Cato, I outwardly respected and even praised the Senate and the laws.
They couldn't call this treason or incitement.
Nor had I threatened to pass the land bill through the popular assembly.
There was neither a way nor a justification to stop me from using my own money to support the veterans.
The idea was to win without attacking.
"By the way, I didn't know your oratory skills were this good. Your father is an excellent speaker and orator, but... you are truly beyond expectations. No wonder Cato was at a loss in senaculum."
"I still have much to learn."
I answered with a smile.
The speech I just gave was a slight modification of speeches by JFK and other famous politicians.
Could there be a better cheat than this?
At that moment, the voices of the soldiers chanting my name gradually faded.
No, they turned into jeers.
What's going on?
Turning my head, I saw a man climbing onto the rostrum.
It was Crassus.
Crassus was climbing onto the rostrum, escorted by his slaves.
"Get out of here, you money-grubbing parasite!"
"Where do you think you are, approaching our Imperator like that?!"
The soldiers spat and jeered.
In a way, it was a natural reaction.
Pompey and Crassus had been rivals since they served together under Sulla.
During the Spartacus revolt, they had also fought over the credit for the victory.
But why was Crassus coming up here?
Maintaining a straight posture, I watched Crassus approach.
He strode up silently, reached out, and grabbed my hand.
Is he planning to start a brawl with me right now?
Just as I was about to open my mouth, Crassus gripped my hand and raised it high into the air.
The next moment, his voice boomed across the Forum.
"Lucius Julius Caesar! Your words are right!"
Wait, what?
***
"Lucius Julius Caesar! Your words are right!"
Crassus shouted, still gripping my hand.
"Our Rome has been able to enjoy prosperity thanks to the blood and sweat shed by countless soldiers! How could we be stingy in helping them?"
Wait.
Surely it isn't what I'm thinking.
"I, Marcus Licinius Crassus, agree with the argument of the young Caesar!
Accordingly, I too will contribute 5 million sesterces of my personal wealth to the fund for the veterans! This will support not only my legionaries but all soldiers who have fought for Rome for the past ten years!"
A stunned silence fell over the Forum.
After a brief stillness, a cheer even louder than before erupted.
"Waaaaaaah!"
I looked at Crassus in silence.
This was definitely something I didn't expect.
But it was also very like Crassus.
A thoroughly business-minded decision, one might say.
At that moment, Pompey approached the two of us, his face flushed red.
"Crassus, you rotten son of a bitch. If you're trying to seduce my legionaries with money right now..."
"Sir Pompey."
I stepped in front of Pompey.
It wouldn't be a good look if the two of them started fighting now.
The proposal Crassus just made was beneficial not only to me but to Pompey as well.
Flanked by the two middle-aged men, I stood in the middle.
I don't know why I'm always stuck between old guys.
I was born a noble in ancient Rome, yet instead of beautiful women, I was only dealing with these middle-aged men.
"You have to trust me."
"..."
Pompey looked torn between exploding in anger and holding it back.
The next moment, he muttered a curse and grabbed my hand.
Crassus and Pompey.
Holding the hands of both men, I raised both our joined hands high.
"Waaaaaaah!"
The cheers echoed endlessly through the Forum, showing no signs of stopping.
***
Crassus had pledged a massive fortune—five million sesterces—to my veterans' fund.
Why did he suddenly make such an announcement?
The reason was simple when you thought about it.
"It seems competing with you any longer is meaningless, Lucius."
Crassus said.
After finishing the announcement in the Forum, the three of us—Crassus, Pompey, and I—headed to my house together.
With my younger sister Julia peeking at us, the three of us sat down to talk.
"To be honest, I was already suffering massive losses from Palmolive."
"Because you're selling it at a price far below cost."
I nodded.
Of course, for Crassus, it was a loss he could afford.
If he eliminated all competitors and seized control of the Palmolive market from me, he could have made even greater profits.
But I supported the veterans and used the lottery to ruin his plans.
"There's a saying, 'If you can't beat them, join them.' So I decided to help you as well."
"Throwing money around is the only thing a bastard like you knows how to do, Crassus."
Pompey growled.
"If you think you can win over my legionaries with a few coins, you're gravely mistaken."
"I don't really want to hear that from you, who can't even pay the back wages owed to your own legionaries. I think your soldiers would gladly take whatever coins they can get."
"What?! You son of a...!"
I reached out and blocked the two men.
They're not grade-schoolers, yet they're busy fighting the moment they see each other.
How did my father pacify and coax these two in the original history?
A sigh escaped me before I knew it.
"Both of you, please calm down. There is no reason for us to fight right now."
I turned my head and looked at Pompey.
"No matter how much financial support Crassus and I provide, the legionaries will follow you, sir Pompey. Because in the end, you're the one who secured support from both of us."
"You have a point. Anyway, today you helped me save face and calmed the soldiers' discontent."
Pompey cleared his throat and sat back down.
"Sir Crassus, you'll also be able to win the hearts of the Roman citizens with this announcement. While the Senate ignored and mistreated the veterans, only the three of us stepped forward for them."
It wasn't a bad situation for me either.
Crassus wanted a truce with me, and with his help, I could increase the scale of the fund.
"The Senate will keep quiet for a while too. They probably wanted to take issue with your lottery thing, but how can they attack you after your announcement today?"
Crassus said.
He was still pretending not to see Pompey, looking only at me.
"Isn't that what you were aiming for when you made that announcement today?"
"No, I have a different plan for it."
I shook my head.
The Senate wasn't such an easy opponent.
Numerous senators had been wary of me for a while. They feared my rising reputation more than anything else.
They feared not only me but Pompey and Crassus as well.
They would definitely try to damage our reputation somehow.
"For them, the lottery is a perfect pretext—one they absolutely cannot pass up."
"So you started the lottery on purpose, knowing that?"
Crassus tilted his head.
"What exactly are you plotting?"
"It's simple. Having the Senate attack me."
In any era, politics was hard to predict.
It was like a vast ocean shaped by hundreds of politicians.
Politicians who once enjoyed glory would fall if they met the wrong wave, and nobodies would sometimes rise to the top.
But there was one thing that never changed.
"Cato is a man obsessed with the traditions and order of Rome more than anyone else."
Since we first met at the senaculum, Cato had tried to hinder me at every turn.
There was no need to guess what action Cato would take.
If so, is there any reason not to use it?
Cato was a bull charging at a matador.
He was the kind of bull who would see the lottery, call it gambling, and charge without looking ahead.
If you knew how he would move, setting up countermeasures was easy.
"Cato will definitely help us—whether he realizes it or not."