Chapter 3: The Richest Man of Rome, Crassus (3)
After returning to the mansion, Jae-hoon asked himself a question.
'How will I live? What kind of person do you want to be?'
It was a topic that had to be answered thoughtfully.
Like the second generation of the chaebol, he lives in luxury that he has not previously enjoyed.
That is one of many things he can aim for.
The ripples in his mind that began after saving a girl today kept Jae-hoon thinking.
The concept that he never cared about in his previous life, that he would never have anything to do with himself, came to mind at this moment.
Power. Authority.
Jae-hoon, who felt the reality of it today, gradually calmed down in his own thoughts.
Today was the first time since he opened his eyes here in the mansion, or even in his previous life, that he suppressed someone else with power.
He has lived chaebol's life, which is natural to be taken away so far, but for the first time in his life, he became a politician and used what he called power.
The sentiment was never small.
Jae-hoon uttered a word that he knew only himself at this point in BC (Before Christ), which suddenly appeared in his mind.
"Noblesse Oblige."
'The noble have an obligation.'
It's still long before France was created, so people here will understand if he speaks Latin like "Principes Oblige."
Those who live in modern times took that as a natural virtue.
However, when he was in that position, it was not easy.
'Let's think about it calmly. What can I do with my ability.'
Saving some prominent slaves is not only frustrating, but it is also hard to say that he has achieved something remarkable.
He didn't want to make a crazy argument about abolishing slavery.
Slavery is an important component of the current Roman economy. If Jae-hoon says such a thing without an alternative to cover it, it would be perfect for dying by being stoned.
'Because the Gracchus brothers were also killed by the vested interests while insisting on land reform. If I come up with a radical reform plan, I'll be seen as arguing with the powerful right away.'
The failure of the Gracchus brothers to distribute wealth as tribunals, the representatives of the plebeians (common people), is a famous story in middle school textbooks.
Caesar later passed the more relaxed agrarian law as consul.
In the book Jae-hoon saw, the Gracchus brothers failed, and Caesar explained why he succeeded.
While Caesar's reform plan was less radical than Gracchus's, another significant difference exists. The Gracchus brothers supported the plebeians but did not consider the vested interests of the Senate at all. In other words, it was a reform close to a revolution from bottom to top.
On the contrary, Caesar took the post of consul, the highest office in Rome, and proceeded with the reform.
And he added weight to his proposal by attracting Pompeius, who boasted the highest reputation, and Crassus, a wealthy man.
Reforms must be carried out within the system, not outside, so the resistance they encounter is much weaker.
Hadrianus, who abolished the right to kill the slaves who escaped, was later the emperor of Rome.
'In order to achieve change, it's first to get into a position where you can pursue it.'
If you are in that position, every word carries weight, making it easier to urge people to change their consciousness.
It could change the numerous contradictions and problems that this society has and make Rome even greater.
Jae-hoon now liked Rome.
As it was such a great power, there were countless media related to Rome, such as movies and dramas, and the longing for the great empire was on one side of his heart.
Even now, he was born into the ruling aristocratic family of Rome, so how could it not be good?
Jae-hoon hoped this Rome would move forward more magnificently and brilliantly than the original history.
'First of all, you must have power. I need to have power in a better world first.'
Jae-hoon's thoughts began to take shape in detail.
Without power, nothing can change.
No matter how much he says he knows a more rational and advanced world, if Jae-hoon doesn't have the strength, he'll just be treated like a psychopath.
No, he'd be lucky if he didn't get killed like the Gracchus brothers.
The question is how to achieve this.
'Is it possible to simply rise to the rank of consul? No, that alone is impossible.'
Considering that the consul is the highest official in Rome, the term of office is only one year. In principle, it is impossible to extend the term unless it is a matter at stake for the country's existence.
This is why pursuing reforms that must be looked at from a long-term perspective is impossible.
'Even if you become a dictator like Caesar...….'
The Romans have an almost allergic reaction to dictators.
In Caesar's words, which passed many reforms to a reasonably good effect, it was eventually assassination.
Rome is a place where people who, like Sulla, dictatorship for the vested interests and then lay down that power is also criticized for being dictators.
Above all, the biggest problem is that Jae-hoon needs to be more confident in competing with prominent figures such as Caesar and Pompeius.
'I know roughly what's going to happen, so how can I win? No, but what if something goes wrong and there's a civil war? How can I beat Caesar?'
In Rome, at the end of the republic, it was almost impossible to do without military talent and merit to reach the top.
If there is a problem, it is natural that it comes out as a performance event at the end.
Didn't Crassus also die in the end while trying to gain the military achievements he lacked?
'Oh! If I knew this would happen, I should have thoroughly devoured ancient Roman history, not just scratching the surface.'
He didn't know it would suddenly fall to 2,000 years ago, so it's meaningless to blame himself for the past now.
Jae-hoon, who was wandering around the room and worried, clapped his hands without realizing the idea that came up suddenly.
"Right! You don't have to compete with humans like Caesar, do you? Why do you do such a thing like a fool?"
There was no reason for Jae-hoon to compete with Caesar, even if he changed his mind a little.
Caesar also avoided a direct confrontation with Sulla, a rare big man.
The reason was simple. It's because of the age difference.
Sulla, 38 years older than Caesar, had died long before Caesar was active in politics. The age difference between Caesar and Marcus is less than 20 years old. He can't wait to die of old age, but Jae-hoon knows that Caesar is being assassinated.
Caesar was 56 years old when he was assassinated.
By then, Marcus is at an age when he will have just opened up his political heyday.
According to history, the battle for succession after Caesar's death is narrowed down to the two-way structure of Antonius and Octavius. Here, Caesar's adopted son, Octavius, wins and later becomes what is called Augustus.
Historians say that Rome has been transformed from a republic to an empire since then.
This is where Jae-hoon will dig in.
'Isn't it okay if I increase my power under Caesar and take over Rome after he dies?'
It didn't make sense, even if he thought about it for himself.
If he builds up his power well by then, he will be able to intervene enough in the match to gain possession of the Mediterranean world after Caesar's death.
Time to build up power to reach the peak of Rome, the attention that all had focused on. If all this is under Caesar, it can be easily solved.
Caesar's tremendous aggressive power, which strengthens power while on a roll, will absorb all the Senate checks.
Then Jae-hoon can comfortably increase his power in the shade.
If it had not developed enough power, it could also prevent Caesar's assassination and become his true right-hand man.
'That's enough of the big picture. It's all about fine tuning.… What should I do with this?'
He took Western history as a liberal arts subject and read related books, so he knew the big story of history.
However, this alone is not enough.
Knowing big events ahead of time may be a great advantage, but it is only partially absolute.
It would be different if you knew all the details, but Jae-hoon was not a major in Roman history.
There was a high possibility that he would be in a big mess if he acted hastily, believing in only incomplete knowledge.
"I need more knowledge to make a perfect plan... This gives me a headache."
Although he has set the rough direction, developing the details always takes hard work and effort.
Jae-hoon fell asleep unknowingly while tossing and turning in bed and rolling his head.
* * *
How many hours has he been asleep?
Jae-hoon woke up from his sleep.
No, maybe he just fell asleep.
There was a familiar library scene in front of Jae-hoon, who opened his eyes.
It was very similar to his alma mater's library, which boasts the best number of books at universities in Korea.
The difference is that no one except Jae-hoon is noticeable.
He didn't remember seeing his alma mater library empty without a fly.
"What is this? Are I back to where I were?"
He tried to go out of the library, but strangely, he couldn't see the entrance.
Jae-hoon suddenly remembered that he could read the data he was looking for here.
He quickly searched the books and rented the most extensive and thickest study of late-republic Roman history.
The page was so vast that he focused on reading only the necessary parts.
Unfortunately, little data was left on Crassus II, who Jae-hoon possessed.
Even after the death of his father and brother, he remained a pro-Caesar faction, and his son joined Augustus.
"Okay. Let's keep the data of key figures at the end of the republic as soon as possible."
In fact, knowledge of the people around him was much more urgent than data about himself.
Jae-hoon decided to read the list of influential people he must know carefully.
* * *
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