Even the emperor himself had to personally go to war to defend Siyuan City. Of course, Bacchus Empire's situation was not as light-hearted as Emperor Marius made it out to be.
But Marius remained calm and composed, and he even had time to consider Alina's marriage issues...
This is probably the state of mind and confidence that an emperor should have.
He believes that as long as he doesn't mess up, everything can be solved.
And everything has two sides, and breaking and then building up is not necessarily a bad thing.
Besides, many things were originally expected.
For example, the gladiators of Siyuan City will take advantage of the chaos to revolt. This is not an accident...
This slave uprising led by gladiators was originally what Marius intended, but this plan was the work of Alina.
The name of the gladiator who led the rebellion was Brutus. He was once an officer of the Immortal Legion under Emperor Marius. He had made many military exploits and accumulated merit to become the minor lord of Granmer Village north of Siyuan City.
Brutus's sister is named Elina. At a banquet organized by Justus, Elina met Luciana (now Alina), and she became Luciana's only friend.
Elina is the only girl of the same generation that Luciana has ever met who is willing to listen to her tell the official history instead of following others' opinions. It may be due to fate. The two of them look very similar, so they have a pretty good relationship.
Luciana has now changed his name to Alina, which is also related to Elina.
Brother and sister Brutus and Elina got into big trouble some time ago. Of course, it should be said that trouble came to them.
Brutus has refused bribes from the Senate many times, and Elina has just rejected the proposal of a Senate member in this year's Goddess Festival - Brutus is a new generation of lords who emerged from the reforms of Emperor Marius. He is a firm reformer and cannot defect to the conservative faction.
Elina will never marry a politician who is old enough to be his father, no matter how high his status is.
And this firm refusal brought retaliatory consequences.
Due to the rebellion of Sheila Yuzas's rebels, Brutus, as a lord, of course had to lead troops to fight against it. However, not long after he left Granmer Village with his troops, the entire village was recognized as a 'Snake Worship Cult bandit den'...
All villagers, together with Elina, are designated as Snake Worship Cult disciples, and they will become slaves!
This is of course an unjust case, and the cause of the unjust case is easy to understand. Once Elina becomes a slave, the former member of the Senate can naturally do whatever he wants - Elina was kidnapped by him.
Of course Brutus would not give up. After all, no brother could bear this kind of thing. He withdrew his troops and led his troops to kill nearly 200 members of the senator's family and rescued Elina.
In anger, Brutus couldn't hold back, and he couldn't hold back in order to save people. He did kill a lot more people, and some innocent people must have died in his hands.
But in order to save my sister, there is no other way.
In any case, this matter is indeed too big. No matter what the reason is, it is ultimately serious in nature.
In addition, he is a member of the Senate. If nothing else, all the conservative nobles will want the lives of Brutus's family and the lives of his soldiers.
So Brutus claimed that Elina was killed, and asked his soldiers to flee quietly with Elina, while he himself went to Siyuan City's Royal Court surrendered and took all the charges - he knew that the judge under Emperor Marius's nose would be more fair, and since he was Immortal Legion's, he might give him a chance.
Siyuan City's Royal Court is indeed fair. After all, everything happened for a reason. In addition, Brutus once made military exploits for the empire, so Brutus was only sentenced to slavery instead of death.
And also gave Brutus the easiest way to regain his freedom and become a warrior again - making him the slave gladiator of Siyuan City Royal Arena.
This result is not bad. After all, he killed a whole family. In fact, most members of the Senate felt that the sentence was too light.
But Elina didn't want her brother to die in the arena, so she approached Luciana, hoping that Luciana could help and see if she could find a way to rescue Brutus.
Luciana, now Alina, is the daughter of Justus.
Since the matter involved the Senate and the Supreme Court had already made a decision, Governor Justus originally did not want to intervene.
But Luciana thinks this is a good opportunity, an opportunity that can completely solve Bacchus Empire's internal problems.
Justus himself is the biggest assistant in promoting Emperor Marius's reforms and the initiator of most reform policies. Of course, he also knows the two biggest internal difficulties that Emperor Marius's reforms face.
One is the resistance of the old aristocratic forces - the old guard holds more than half of the country's wealth and military, and they just want to live a comfortable life with their vested interests. Even those among the old guard who are willing to safeguard national interests are, at best, just like Governor Kairos who strictly adhere to private ethics.
Another difficulty is Bacchus Empire's deep-rooted tradition of slavery.
It was the slavery system that caused the centuries-old ethnic conflict between Baxian and Pande; it also gave the empire's biggest foreign enemy, Snake Worship Cult, the best soil for expansion.
Unlike other countries, Bacchus Empire's slavery system is almost deeply ingrained in the bones of every Baxian.
Lionheart Kingdom and Raven Kingdom also have slaves, but they are basically indentured servants, that is, they are sold into slavery and can be redeemed.
This should actually be called servants or servants - in fact, Kloze and they were originally indentured slaves of Li Ang.
However, the master cannot execute such servants at will, and will also pay some salary, which is subject to the contract.
Farming in most of the kingdom's aristocratic territories is done by letting commoners who have lost their land rent crops as tenants, which is also a contractual cooperation method.
In other words, slaves and tenant farmers in countries such as Lions and Crows, including Fieltzwe, are essentially employment relationships, or at least contracts that are binding on both parties based on treating the other party as an equal 'person'.
But Bacchus Empire is different.
Bacchus Empire's slaves are purely tools that have lost their personal freedom and perform unpaid labor. They cannot even be called human beings.
Bax Most nobles used serfs to cultivate their fields, and it was not a transaction like selling themselves into slavery, but forced slavery.
That is to say, unpaid labor for life, and it will continue to be the case for the next generation. All descendants have to be slaves. There is no contract and no redemption.
This is the real lowest level of society, without any human rights. Even eating depends on rewards, and life is worse than that of pigs and dogs.
At present, nearly one-third of the people in the Bacchus Empire are still such slaves, and they are basically natives of Pendor.
In fact, Emperor Marius had abolished the Civil Rights Act twenty years ago, and the new Civil Law also stipulated that all people have equal citizenship rights, but twenty years is indeed too short, and people's ideas have not changed yet.
Besides, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom - the emperor said that Baxian and Pande are equal citizens, so okay, citizens will be citizens and they must respect His Majesty the Emperor.
However, criminals and heretics cannot be equal citizens, right?
In addition, Emperor Marius also promulgated a decree to crack down on Snake Worship Cult. Anyone who defectes to Snake Worship Cult is considered a slave - this is allowed by the policy.
As a result, Bax appeared numerous 'Snake Worship Cult disciples'...
Anyway, as long as the noble lord or the tribune says that this person is a Snake Worship Cult disciple, then this person will most likely become a slave.
There are definitely many more unjust, false and wrongful convictions than there are real Snake Worship Cult disciples, but no one will take the risk to overturn the conviction of a slave who is identified as a Snake Worship Cult disciple.
The result is that Baxian, who owns land and power, is not much different from a hundred years ago, and can still force Pande into slavery.
And the current nature may be even more cruel. They have been directly labeled as followers of the Snake Cult. They have completely lost all hope of turning over and cannot even flee abroad - fleeing to other countries while carrying the identity of a Snake Worship Cult disciple is also considered a heretic and will be burned to death...
This resulted in many people who did not originally believe in Snake Worship Cult, but because they became slaves, they actually joined Snake Worship Cult to fight against the empire.
Of course, slaves are not completely hopeless. Emperor Marius's military reform includes such a provision - gladiators are allowed to join the imperial legion after fighting a certain number of games. Once the service period expires, they can become free men. If they perform meritorious service, they will have the opportunity to be promoted and make a fortune.
Therefore, a large number of slaves who did not want to join Snake Worship Cult became gladiators, hoping to regain their freedom through slave gladiatorial combat.
Gradually, the influence of Bax's slave gladiatorial competition became very great, and Emperor Marius and his reform policies were regarded as the only hope by the slaves.
But, but.
Most of the people who control the gladiatorial arenas and gladiator training camps are traditional and conservative high-ranking officials who want to protect their interests.
In fact, only a very small number can actually leave the arena and join the legion. It is difficult for the gladiators to live until the day they are free.
Because, although Marius's policies were fine, there was something wrong with the people who implemented them...
Regarding the reform policy of slave gladiators, in just a dozen years, slave traders and various gladiator training camps have come up with new tricks.
Originally, the slaves who were sold to the gladiatorial arena would be registered for the number of battles they participated in. After reaching a certain number of battles, if the gladiator was alive, he would join the various legions of the Bacchus Empire and become warriors.
This is a mandatory restraint policy promulgated by Emperor Marius to select outstanding soldiers from gladiators, and it is also equivalent to training soldiers in the gladiatorial arena.
To this end, each legion will also settle certain training funds to the gladiator training camps and gladiator arenas to subsidize the cost of the training camps - the gladiator training camps also spend money to buy these slaves.
Originally, if this policy was properly implemented, everyone would benefit steadily.
But in order to make those gladiators with the best skills become long-term cash cows and for greater profits, slave traders, gladiator training camps and gladiator ring owners began to cooperate closely and began to continuously tamper with the files of gladiators.
So in recent years, most gladiators have gradually lost their names, leaving only code names.
After playing the prescribed number of games in one arena, the code name will be changed and transferred to another arena...
This is probably the earliest transfer transaction between clubs.
If the gladiators do not cooperate with the transfer, then the final battle may be an extremely unfair brawl, or even a battle with a lion or a tiger.
Anyway, there is a high probability that the uncooperative gladiators will die in the last battle and earn enough profits for the bosses through a completely unfair fight - there are many Bax nobles who like to watch small enemies with more enemies or battles between humans and beasts. This kind of unfair battle makes it more intense and exciting.
The bloodier the scene, the more eye-catching it is. The bosses earn more, and the influence of slave gladiatorial games further increases.
If the Gladiators are 'willing to cooperate with the transfer', then at least they will face relatively fair battles most of the time and can survive for a while relying on their own fighting power.
In this case, it is obvious what kind of mentality the gladiators will have.
They are all warriors fighting for survival between life and death. What will they do when they see no real hope at all?
Those serfs did not have the courage to resist, so they could only join Snake Worship Cult to seek the power of the evil god.
But gladiators will not worship evil gods, these warriors will rely on their own strength!
Luciana saw this, so she made a big plan.
She planned to let Brutus lead the gladiators in rebellion, and then, with the cooperation of Governor Justus, launch a large-scale slave rebellion army, and use this rebel army to make all Baxian understand that the slavery system must change!
Then let this rebel army deal with Snake Worship Cult and wash away the rebel army's charges of rebellion.
Finally, the empire promulgated a policy to abolish slavery, fully implement the indentured employment system, and incorporate this slave rebel army.
Brutus, who has done great service for His Majesty the Emperor, will naturally be able to clear his name and become a lord again, and maybe even become Legion Commander.
But Governor Justus felt that this plan was too risky and difficult to control if something went wrong, so he did not agree to his daughter's plan.
As a result, Luciana secretly ran to Siyuan City and directly told Emperor Marius the plan.
Justus and Emperor Marius are close friends. It can be said that Marius watched Luciana grow up and was even Luciana's godfather - he was just his godfather. Marius was an old friend with Justus Dukes before he became emperor.
Moreover, Luciana happened to be born on the same day that Marius ascended the throne, so Marius regarded her as his biological daughter.
Therefore, Marius knew Luciana.
This girl has been Erudition City's famous prodigy since she was a child. She could read Bax's narrative poems when she was three years old. She was able to translate seven ancient poems from the Noldor literature when she was less than six years old... This is an incredible ability. Of course, this is also because her father Justus is indeed knowledgeable.
Since she was twelve years old, she has become the biggest customer of the candle merchant Erudition City - the candles ordered by Luciana every year are enough to feed an ordinary family for seven years. She always sits there by herself and studies endless ancient scrolls and manuscripts, with the candles burning all night long.
Even Justus and Marius were not sure whether she had slept at all. Anyway, she must have slept very little. She liked to spend her nights taking notes on ancient manuscripts, and she had been studying Madigan's Prophecy.
Luciana is about to turn twenty. There are very few aristocratic girls in this era who are still unmarried at this age.
But she is still single because all the men in the empire are afraid of making a fool of themselves in front of her, and no one even dares to date her - the knowledge she possesses is indeed not on the same level as most young people.
Emperor Marius even feels that her talent and learning have surpassed Justus's, but she just has no political experience.
The plan that such a girl dared to propose to the emperor was actually very feasible and in line with Marius' temper.
Therefore, Emperor Marius and Luciana perfected this plan. The overall design is similar to that of Luciana, but it is related to some specific actual situations.
While Sheila Yuzas's rebels are in rebellion, let Brutus, a trustworthy immortal, be the leader and lead a slave uprising from within Siyuan City. This will allow everyone to see that the slavery system must be changed!
Then, let the rebels first kill the conservatives who are the least cooperative and have the most rampant behavior - or let these conservatives who do not support the reform go to 'annihilate the rebels'.
Luciana will deliver first-hand information to the rebels, and whoever goes to suppress them will die...
After no one dared to annihilate the rebels anymore, let the rebels cooperate with Marshal Kairos to wipe out the rebels of Sheila Yuzas in one fell swoop - the rebels of Sheila Yuzas rebelled in order to establish a deeper slavery system. They and the slave rebels are natural enemies!
After this, Marius announced a comprehensive transformation from the slavery system to the contract employment system, which would fundamentally inhibit the development of Snake Worship Cult.
Finally, Marius would personally lead the rebel army to deal with Snake Worship Cult, and then recruit this rebel army that had been tempered in the battle to add a powerful legion to the empire that supported reform.
This is a multi-purpose method, and may even make the entire Bacchus Empire appear new again!
This plan was also named 'Imperial New Life Plan' by Marius.
So Luciana changed his name to Alina, served as the intelligence officer of Emperor Marius, and began to implement this plan with Elina, both openly and secretly, as liaisons with Brutus.
This talented woman is so famous. If she didn't change her name, everyone would know that Marius and Justus were causing trouble. Maybe the gladiators wouldn't be willing to believe her...
And following the name 'Elina' to 'Alina', it would be very reasonable - there is only one letter difference between the names, they look like two sisters, everyone will think that she is also the sister of Brutus.
Brutus is a very capable warrior. With the cooperation and remote control of Emperor Marius, he successfully launched the gladiator uprising and led a huge slave uprising army.
However, the plan could not keep up with the changes. The originally good Imperial New Life Plan encountered the cross-sea invasion of Snake Worship Cult.
This was indeed an accident...
Emperor Marius and Alina both thought that domestic Snake Worship Cult gangsters might take the opportunity to cause trouble, and made corresponding arrangements in advance.
But no one thought that the Snake Worship Cult gangsters who caused trouble this time were not just from the Bacchus Empire territory, most of them came from the Amara Continent's Snake Worship Cult headquarters...
The descendants of the conqueror now face the invasion of another, more evil conqueror.
At the same time, no one expected that Sheila Youzas's rebels would suddenly receive a massive amount of money, food and materials, and their strength would increase greatly.
The deployment of Emperor Marius was also disrupted.
According to the original plan, after the rebel army killed those stubborn conservatives, liberated a large number of slaves and established its reputation, Brutus should be allowed to lead the rebel army to cooperate with Kairos to eliminate Sheila Yuzas's rebels in one fell swoop.
Marius would then grant amnesty to the rebels as a result of eliminating the rebellion, and abolish the slavery system - this seemed reasonable and no one would object.
Anyone who dares to disobey can attack the rebels. By the way, it can also make Kairos, a conservative military leader, understand that sticking to the old system will only lead to wave after wave of uprisings.
But there must be a high-level commitment to this matter, and some loyal troops must be sent to guide the rebels, otherwise a group of rabble may start fighting with Kairos...
Originally, Marius planned to come forward to do this in person, but due to the sudden increase in strength of Sheila Yuzas's rebels, they not only defeated Kairos, but also advanced to only three meters away from Siyuan City. The position is ten miles away. And the Snake Worship Cult army coming across the sea from the south has also approached Siyuan City. In this case, Marius really cannot leave Siyuan City.
This also caused Marius and Alina to temporarily lose contact with Brutus and Elina some time ago. As a result, the rebel army got a little out of control, became larger and larger, and went straight to Erudition City, besieging Erudition City...
At the same time, Marshal Kairos's rebel army cannot be contacted at all now. They only know that the last place they appeared is Fenrad Village - this is when Agason was recalled, Agason met halfway.
Marius realized that it would be difficult for Brutus alone to completely control an army of tens of thousands of people under the current circumstances, so the plan had to be changed.
Because this matter is inherently risky, and once something goes wrong, it may change from a 'rebirth plan' to a 'rebirth plan'...
So now we cannot let Brutus lead the troops to eliminate the rebellion. We can only let him cooperate with Governor Justus to see if he can recruit Erudition City on the spot.
In addition, the southeast region has been heavily invaded by Snake Worship Cult, Marasburg has been captured, and all news from the east has been cut off.
Once Imperial Port is captured, Snake Worship Cult will continue to log in from Imperial Port just like General Osa invaded Pande Continent.
So Emperor Marius recalled Agason from Fort Lela, let Agason return to the army to recover Marasburg, and rescue Imperial Port.
It is of course very risky to give up Fort Lela, which means that the capital Siyuan City, which is facing enemies on both sides, will no longer have reinforcements.
At the same time, Sava Fortress's General Titus had been recalled a few days ago, and Emperor Marius asked it to contact Ash Descendants Empire to jointly fight against Snake Worship Cult.
Ash Descendants Empire is a country re-established on the ruins of the destroyed Old Bacchus Empire native land by those in the Amara Continent native land who were unwilling to succumb to Snake Worship Cult.
But Marius did not ask General Titus to ask for help.
Instead, he asked Titus to take the battleship across the sea directly to the Amara Continent, to join forces with the Ash Descendants Empire and destroy Snake Worship Cult's port at the Amara Continent!
He wants to draw fire from under the cauldron!
Emperor Marius did not ask anyone for help because of the crisis Siyuan City encountered, and currently all the troops that can support Siyuan City have been sent out by him.
Not only that, he also took the initiative to stand on the outermost line of defense of Siyuan City, which was the front line facing the rebels.
"I am Marius! Emperor of the Empire! I am here! Come on, traitors, charge at me!"