Narius
Chapter 10: Class Struggle

Copyright© 2009 by SamN

Athenae, Western Roman Empire 481

"Your plans seem rather interesting, Caesar," Alexander spoke carefully as he an Narius dined quietly in his home, "It might even win the people's support given that you're not just appointing a provincial government."

"Rome has to allow some local control," Narius sighed, "there are too many problems for me to just appoint men to carry out orders from above. It would mean that I and the Imperial Senate would have to handle far too many problems. Greece will have to be able to take care of small matters to allow Rome to deal with bigger problems."

"It is something that has never been done before," Alexander commented, "Not in Roman, not even in Greek history."

"I would think that Roman and Greek history is rather different," Narius answered, "besides, the world is changing. One does not follow history, one makes history."

Alexander only nodded.

"It could be difficult though," Helen spoke up from her spot at the table, "If your appointed governors have the same skills in Greek that you do, they might have problems with many of our citizens who may not also know Latin."

"Nothing is easy," Narius warned, "perhaps in time, both Greek and Latin will be fluently known. Something else that Greece and provide for Rome. Educators."

"My brother could provide them easily," Helen spoke, "If you give him the authority to do so."

"You are an ambitious one," Narius smiled and then dismissed the issue, "but I'm afraid, due to the bargains I have made, your brother would also require the support of the Imperial Senate, and its present members will not tolerate any supposed connection between myself and the Eastern Empire."

"I apologize, Caesar if she's spoken out of turn," Alexander spoke.

"There is no problem," Narius told him, "My most important goal is loyalty. So long as your sister remains loyal to Rome, I do not mind a little ambition. Besides things are changing rapidly everywhere. Intelligent ambition may be a great virtue for Rome, so long as the right people have it. And I'm afraid that I will be returning to Rome to take care of matters I left there. I will send representatives to oversee your elections for provincial representatives and then elections for your representatives to the Imperial Senate."

Alexander nodded, but knowingly looked to his sister with a face that practically begged her to keep quiet on political matters. He was not an ambitious man and didn't want his sister's ambition to do him in. He might content himself to serving in the provincial government, but he didn't want to be heavily involved in the Imperial Government in Rome. From what he had heard from the Eastern Governor at times, there were levels of intrigue that were far too deep for him.

Mediolanum, Western Roman Empire

"This task is impossible," the metal smith spoke in a disbelieving voice as Urses presented him with Narius's plans for the Roman Empire, "I don't know the first thing about making that style of armor. Why can't he stick to chain mail? It's cheaper to produce and everyone knows how to make it."

"It is the will of Caesar that the segmented armor be manufactured for Roman infantrymen," Urses answered in a flat voice, "It will allow them to have added protection against Rome's enemies. The Burgundians, the Alemanni, the Franks. You wouldn't want them to invade do you?"

"No, but I can't supply the army with segmented armor for the next year," the metal smith answered, "I'll be lucky if I can figure out how to make it by next year."

"Then the army will wait," Urses answered, "Caesar has informed me that his goal is long term reform. And with only two legions at the moment, I believe he would prefer to raise more soldiers before worrying too much about their armor. We will expect reports on your development of the segmented armor at regular intervals and that until they are ready, your workmen can continue making chain mail for the infantry for the time being."

"Of course," the metal smith answered, "Hail Caesar."

Urses only nodded and left to return to his horse. He had been extremely busy trying to carry on the task of rebuilding Rome's army since the task had been given to him by Narius. He so far found the task to be difficult. He had executed one recruiting drive so far, mostly through the southern provinces and was only successful in raising enough men to add one additional legion to Rome's army. Not enough to give them any degree of protection from threats from outside the Empire.

For the time being though, it was all that could be managed, and while Urses left them in Rome to at least begin basic training, Urses rushed by horseback to began contacting the various metal smiths, nearly all of them in northern Italia to get them to carry out the second part of Narius's ideas. The discussion that he had just had with the Mediolanum metal smith was one that he had repeated with nearly every metal smith. None of them wanted to undertake the experiment and preferred the less expensive chain mail armor. Urses was forced to tell each one that the project was to be a long term project, and he was privately sure that none of them would make any serious attempt.

The whole situation was tough and strained, and Urses was grateful that so far, reports that Flavius Sextus had sent to Rome so far indicated that there was no major danger to the north of Rome's borders at that time.

Genava, Kingdom of Burgundians, Frankish Occupation

"And you're certain he's Roman?" Clovis asked in a questioning voice.

"Yes, my lord," a noble bowed before the Frankish warrior king, "And he has even been recognized by the rulers in Constantinople as well."

"That is of no concern to me," Clovis answered, "but this Narius could be of some use to me. I want you to return to Rome. Tell them that the King of the Franks demands a personal audience."

"Of course, my Lord," the lower ranking noble bowed before his 'king'.

The man then ran off to carry out his orders. Once he was out of range, another man approached Clovis, walking with a slight limp.

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" the man asked, "Meeting with these Romans? Settling curiosity is one thing, but meeting with this Narius could be dangerous. We've come across Germans fleeing Roman territory that are terrified of them."

"We have nothing to fear from the Romans, Sigobert," Clovis answered, "Our warriors and weapons are superior to anything they have. But I believe this Narius could be of use to me."

"And how could he do that?" Sigobert asked, "Even if he is no danger to us, he is likely to still be antagonistic. That means he won't just do what you want because he's afraid."

"But he is Roman," Clovis answered, "as Syagrius is a Roman. Narius is no position to help Syagrius and Syagrius, despite his annoying attacks on my people, is in no position directly help Narius."

"But as a Roman, Narius will surely state that Syagrius has a right to rule Soissons," Sigobert pointed out, "the fact that neither can really help the other is unimportant."

"That will change if we tell him that Syagrius intends to rival his claim to the Roman throne," Clovis answered with a smile, "and like every other man seeking power, he will either directly fight his rival or condone his rival's death."

"I do not see the purpose in entering into these political games," Sigobert answered, "Syagrius is not strong enough to fight us and neither is this Narius. Our only threats are the Burgundians, which we've just reduced to vassal status, the Alemanni, and the Visigoths. Crush Syagrius the old fashioned way, and let Narius be damned for whatever he thinks."

"It's all part of the game of politics," Clovis answered, "We meet with Narius and we learn first hand what sort of man he is. We learn to manipulate him and who knows, maybe he'll be our ally rather then us being his ally."

Rome, Western Roman Empire

Things in the Western Imperial Capital were seemingly cooling down from many of the dramatic arguments on how Narius's new government would function. There were still many things to be done, and supervising the provincial elections was something that was extremely difficult. Much of this had to do with the fact that the Imperial Senate, nor Narius's soldiers had enough to really do this efficiently.

At the same time, the Roman Army was in no position to defend the lands it had claimed. Urses, while sounding confident that army could be rebuilt, seemed rather frustrated with the amount of work he had so far had to do to recruit enough men to only fill a third legion. And Flavius Sextus was sending occasional reports back to Rome that there were some problems in the north.

For Narius's appointed regent, Janus, the situation was one he did not like. There was no outright fighting or riots, but Janus could see that things were not entirely calm. He was an aide and best suited to helping carry out instructions. He was not fit to actually think up the instructions, and he frequently wished for Narius to return from his trip to Greece.

"Has anything been done to finish out the provincial elections?" Janus asked on of the younger Senators who had been drawn to supporting Narius.

"That is difficult," the Senator sighed, "Every noble we've managed to contact has wanted a Senate seat automatically for supervising the elections and seemed rather upset when they learned that at best they could only receive a minor bureaucracy position to count votes and that hey would be subordinate to both Narius and the new Imperial Senate."

"And these are for provincial elections," Janus gave a heavy sigh.

"The nobles, both Roman and loyal German don't like having their powers restricted and the powers of the plebes raised up," the Senator spoke.

"And Narius has lost a lot of faith in the nobles as all they've done is squabble over the past several years," Janus nodded with another sigh, "He prefers whoever does a competent job."

"I assure you the Senate is behind him," the Senator answered, "He's beaten Odoacer and saved Rome."

"I'm sure he would say there is much still to be done before Rome is saved," Janus sighed again and then looked down at the desk he was seated, "and I am not the one to save it."

"He's named you Regent," the Senator answered.

"Only because I don't think he trusts anyone else to do the job without starting another civil war," Janus answered, "I'd rather be a secretary. Not a decision maker."

The Senator looked at Janus and saw that the man was clearly stressed by having to deal with all the issues that revolved around the running of the government. He sighed and hoped that Narius would return soon.

Ostia, Western Roman Empire

Narius smiled confidently as his ship slowly made its way back into the harbor of the port. The meeting with the Eastern Emperor Zeno had gone perfectly and the Greek provinces were now his. Now, in time, he could hire skilled Greek engineers, who had not been exposed to the near constant warfare that the west had been subjected to, to insure that Rome's buildings and monuments remained grand and that Rome could be rebuilt in time. Taxes paid by Greek citizens would help Rome, both in paying for the rebuilding of the army and in paying off the debt to the Eastern Empire, although, it would take awhile for Western Imperial mints could be set up in Greece, but a lot of that would be business to be dealt with in the coming years. For now, he still a lot of work to oversee in Rome.

The harbor was quiet as the ship came in. The guards he came with had come up to the main deck and were watching the harbor get closer. Their officer came to stand up beside Narius as they came closer.

"Another great victory to add to your total, Caesar," the officer spoke with a smile, "and not a drop of blood lost."

"Perhaps how all victories should be won," Narius smiled, "but I do not believe will be that fortunate in the future."

The officer's comment kept a smile on Narius's face as the ship docked and the crew began to tie the ship to it. As a military man, he liked having the support of the army, even though most of them were of German ancestry. He now hoped that with peace secured for the immediate future that they would not grow restless.

Once the work of securing the ship was finish, Narius departed the ship to let the crew go about their own work, and began walking toward the stables that he left his own horse in at Ostia before sailing for Greece. From there he prepared to ride back to Rome and inform the Senate of the successful completion of the business with the Eastern Roman Empire and that further business would be limited to simply making the yearly payments.

The return to Rome took time, as Narius's guard could not march as fast as his horse could gallop. So, they moved at a marching pace. Once they arrived in Rome, Narius quietly rode to the old Praetorian camp where expected to find Janus or Urses waiting for him. He found Janus seated at the small table that suited him as his command desk. Janus quickly recognized Narius and stood up quickly.

"It is good you have returned," Janus spoke as Narius entered the tent.

"Is there some sort of crisis?" Narius asked, "I did not think I was away for that long."

"Nothing serious," Janus answered, "but practically constant and annoying ambition."

Narius looked on quietly.

"The Senate has been trying to find someone who could be trusted to supervise the provincial elections," Janus began.

"I take they've failed," Narius spoke.

"The people best qualified for the posts have asked for rewards that you've already told the Senate that you would not hand out," Janus answered, "and when the Senate informed them of this, they decided not to volunteer."

"Nobility," Narius grumbled, "a plague worse then anything making men think they don't have to work for what they deserve. That is why the Empire has been reduced so. Too many people not wanting to take on the job of insuring Rome's survival."

"The Senate has sworn that they are behind you," Janus spoke.

"This has nothing to do with their loyalty," Narius answered, "this has to do with greedy men seeking greater rewards then what they deserve. And I will begin to deal with this tomorrow. I am too tired from the journey to deal with this tonight."

"Of course, Sire," Janus answered and saluted, "will you require anything tonight?"

"No, thank you, my friend," Narius answered, "I will need some time to think. You'd best get some rest."

The next morning, Narius walked with Janus quietly, but still purposely toward the building the Senate was meeting in for the day. When they arrived they found the Senate gathered and interviewing a man who appeared to be a man of noble rank.

"I am loyal Senators, and I am powerful," the noble argued, "The Emperor depends on my wealth to support the Empire. I think it only fair that I be given proper reimbursement for such services."

"You will get only what you deserve," Narius spoke in a firm voice, giving none of the Senators time to answer on their own.

That brought a shocked silence on the entire room as Narius took the floor with Janus following behind him.

"Caesar has returned from his trip to Greece," Janus spoke once they were sure they had the floor.

"I will first give an overview of the transfer of the Greek provinces to western control," Narius spoke, "then I will make my final statement on what has been going on in my absence."

Narius then took a few steps forward and spoke again.

"Aside from making yearly payments, our business with the Eastern Roman Empire is concluded," Narius spoke, "the Greek provinces are ours, and once Western mints can be established in the new provinces, their tax money can begin paying off the purchase of their territories."

That brought a few surprised looks and a chuckle or two when they realized that Greece would be paying for its own sale. Narius, meanwhile, looked on with a very firm and almost angry look.

"I am, however disgusted by the actions taken by the Senate in regards to appointing men to oversee the provincial elections," Narius answered, "Only asking rich nobles for the posts when they have been consumed by greed and will demand excessive amounts of money or positions in the government that I am not just going to appoint."

"And you're going to let the rabble govern?" the noble asked from the background, sounding insulted.

Narius glared at him angrily. The man quickly fled the room.

"It is not that we want men who are overly ambitious and greedy, Caesar," an elderly Senator answered, "It is just that there are several plebes from small villages running for positions that there was the concern that we would pick corrupt persons that would deliberately alter the votes that the person from their town would win the election."

"And suppose that these nobles alter the votes so that only a noble is elected?" Narius asked back, "In the past several years I have seen just as much corruption among the nobles as many see among the common citizens. The assumption that only the nobles are honest must cease or else nothing will be done. And the barbarians at our borders will invade."

There was a brief silence before Narius spoke again.

"We must work to find those who will work for, at worst, only money," Narius lectured, "We can no longer risk to reward being rich when there is the risk that there will also be corruption on all levels. We must function on what will work. If the nobles have proved not to be hard working an honest, hire some one who will be, even if they aren't nobles. In time, after being ignored, they will change sides and will side with what works rather then their own personal gain."

"But what of the rights of nobles?" another Senator asked. "We can not punish them for being nobles, and they have traditionally played a role in government. You're not attacking tradition, are you?"

"If I am it is unintended," Narius answered, "Rome needs non-corrupt and hardworking government workers. That is why we are allowing the common citizen to run for provincial seats and to be qualified for the Imperial Senate should they win a provincial seat and are among the provincial government's nominees for the Imperial Senate. But Rome, from now on is to measured by what is capable of being done, not by how much money you're born into. Work and accomplishment is far more important."

There was a silence for a moment before many of the Senators nodded in agreement.

"You may resume your search for election officials," Narius then spoke, "If no noble will do it for a flat wage, then tell them that corruption will not be tolerated and interview some unemployed plebes. I'm sure they could use the money."

"Of course, Caesar," a young Senator spoke as Narius then turned and left the room to check on other matters.

Narius returned to the Praetorian camp to check on how Urses was fairing so far with the task of rebuilding Rome's army. He found Urses looking over as several of the centurions were struggling to get a body of men to form ranks. They appeared to be trying, but the efforts were half hearted. He slowly approached Urses who was clearly frustrated by what he was watching.

"You can relax a little bit, General," Narius answered, "we've only just begun training them."

Urses visibly jumped and then looked over to see Narius standing there.

"I'm sorry, Sire," Urses spoke, "I didn't see you there."

Narius nodded, "as I said before, you can relax somewhat. It took us a fair amount of time to get your old legion and Flavius Sextus's legion trained the point where they were combat ready."

Urses only sighed and returned his attention to the men making some attempt to look like they were drilling.

"How many men did you raise?" Narius asked.

"So far, only these people," Urses answered, "about one legion's worth."

Narius didn't answer.

"I was lucky to get these people," Urses then spoke, "a lot of people, while happy that you're the Emperor now, few of them were brave enough to volunteer to fight."

"Where you recruiting?" Narius asked.

"Mostly in the southern provinces," Urses answered, "most of them have actually come from Sicilia and might be Vandals, ethnically."

"And they will fight for Rome?" Narius asked.

"They said they would, although their enthusiasm was rather lacking," Urses replied weakly.

"Who are these people?" Narius asked.

"Practically all of them are plebes," Urses answered, "a few lower ranking nobles volunteered in the hopes of gaining an officer's commission, but the rest are all ordinary citizens. A few of them aren't even citizens actually."

"Who are they?" Narius questioned.

"Slaves, sire," Urses answered, "officially 'sold' to us by their masters who did not wish to fight for Rome. They expect to receive their payment." "That will not do," Narius answered, "I'm not going to pay one man so another can fight. It'll only lead to rebellion later once they've been fully trained and they're with a commander they prefer to Rome."

 
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