The Senate overturned the opinion in a day and declared that it would actively approve of Pompeius's opinion.
Pompeius, who carried out his will this time, was intoxicated with a sense of victory.
But the Senate's counterattack was unexpectedly painful.
Senators gave street speeches to gain citizens' support if the bill was to pass anyway.
The aristocrats' speeches to actively return citizens' rights in the future were applauded by the plebeian council.
Aurelius, a proconsul, took this opportunity.
He insisted that Pompeius Magnus must recover the troubled southern part of the slave revolt.
Although the Crixus rebellion has been suppressed, the situation has not yet been fully settled.
Simply calculating the dead alone, it is well over 100,000.
Most of the slaves who fought in the battle did not surrender and died, so there were not many prisoners.
Rome took slaves who ran away to set an example, caught them, and crucified them all.
Aurelius created a sense of crisis, especially in Sicily, that it should recover public sentiment.
"Most of the Southern slaves who had false hearts died. But the aftermath of the slave revolt was suppressed not as far as Sicily. Sicily is home to the largest number of slaves since ancient times! You don't know what disturbing elements might be hiding. But if Pompeius Magnus takes center stage, who dares to have a false mind!"
The citizens, whose memories of suffering from the slave rebellion were still vivid, enthusiastically agreed to Aurelius' speech.
When the term of office ends, the praetor and consul are dispatched as governors of provinces for one year.
Naturally, Pompeius had to be appointed as governor of the province after his term as consul.
The Senate set Pompeius's place of residence in Sicily.
The plebeian council also overwhelmingly supported this.
Pompeius pretended to be calm on the outside but could not hide his agitation.
This is because he was looking to the east for his post.
The current situation in the east was that Lucullus was pressing Pontus with a series of victories.
If the war continues like this, Mithridates VI will not be able to hold out any longer and will succumb.
When Mithridates' Pontus surrendered, Rome's enemies in the East would disappear.
Pompeius intended to go to the East and build an army before that.
However, not only the Senate but also the plebeian council agreed to send him to Sicily, so there was nothing I could do.
If you insist on going to the east here, you can give the impression that you are a small man greedy for your own achievements rather than the comfort of Rome.
Pompeius was forced to suppress his anger by giving a speech that he was willing to live up to the citizens' expectations.
Even though the senators were deprived of the benefits, they were comforted by seeing Pompeius's desperation.
If you look at it coldly, Pompeius didn't lose anything.
The fact that he couldn't go to the eastern province was just a matter of the fact that the prior plan went wrong.
Still, he couldn't calm down and called Marcus to his house.
Marcus gladly accepted the invitation.
"Oh, you're here?"
Pompeius welcomed Marcus into the tablinum (parlor).
In addition, he hinted in advance that the Senate would not just step down.
If you foresaw all these situations, you would have a solution.
Pompeius was reluctant and immediately got to the point.
"You heard what the Senate did to me, didn't you?"
"Yes. When your term of office is over, you will go as governor of Sicily."
"Could it be that Crassus cheated on the raccoons in the Senate?"
"My father couldn't help it either. He is in a position to represent the Senate. But this is never a loss to Pompeius either."
"Isn't that a loss? I couldn't go to the eastern province, so how could it not be a loss? If we go on like this, we will have to keep our eyes open to see Lucullus put an end to Mithridates."
Pompeius was not satisfied even though he had already built enough military merits.
It is because his goal is to build a feat comparable to Alexandros the Great of Macedonia in the past.
Only two triumphus were not enough.
"What are you so nervous about?"
"I don't know about you, but Lucullus' ability in the East is not comparable to Mithridates. Considering his military talent, it's not strange to drive Mithridates and finish it next year."
"If you look at military talent, that's right. But you don't have to worry about that at all."
"What? Why?"
Lucius Licinius Lucullus was active under Sulla and was recognized for his outstanding talent early on.
With command comparable to Pompeius, he was elected consul four years ago.
Just in time, when Mithridates VI started a war, he was dispatched as governor of Cilicia.
Although Mithridates had a powerful army, he was no match for the military genius Lucullus.
His successive victories were flying to Rome every day.
For Pompeius, who is looking for an opportunity to play, it was not a very desirable result.
However, it was not a big deal for Marcus, who knew how things would go in the future.
"Lucullus may have excellent military talent, but he is bad at winning the hearts of his soldiers. Listening to the reactions of the people dispatched to the eastern provinces, this was evident. So, you may win the battle, but it is difficult to win the war."
"Failed to win the hearts of soldiers? Is that true?"
"Yes. They say that even if you win a battle, looting is prohibited and the loot is distributed too tightly. Of course, it's not against the rules, but there's no way the soldiers will be satisfied with that."
The soldiers of ancient Rome had a strong desire to secure a part in the looting.
After rolling around on the battlefield for many years, they want to ensure they get at least a financial reward.
If looting is prohibited, the commander should hand out enough spoils.
However, Lucullus neglected this point. If only salaries are distributed according to the regulations and looting is prohibited, complaints from soldiers will inevitably accumulate.
Even Lucullus almost monopolized the enormous spoils he had from the wealthy East.
When Pompeius heard about this, he made a fishy laugh.
"If that's true, Lucullus won't last long either. I was nervous for no reason."
"Yes. You can just go to Sicily, win the hearts of the people, and come back to Rome in a relaxed manner. If Lucullus fails to subdue the East, the next turn will naturally come to Pompeius."
"Hahaha, listening to you, I feel like I'm opening up my blocked stomach. Yeah, I'll send someone to the east to find out. If it's really as you say, I'll gladly go to Sicily."
"Thank you."
"I have to thank you. Now I know for sure why Crassus cares so much about you. I've never envied him before, but seeing you makes me change my mind. I hope my son is born with a genius like you."
Despite Pompeius's generous praise, Marcus smiled politely and bowed.
He is glad things went well, but he actually had a bit of bitterness.
'It's a genius talent...….'
How nice it would have been if Marcus was really born with such a thing.
Everyone around him recognized him as a genius that would not exist again in Rome, but that was not the case.
Marcus deliberately wears the mask of genius to appear that way.
Neither Danae, Septimus, Spartacus, nor his father, Crassus, doubted Marcus' genius. It is difficult to be suspected.
He had to act like this genius all the time.
You have to be a perfect superhuman that no one can touch in order to gain that much trust from your subordinates.
If not, what do you believe in Marcus, who is still young, and your subordinates follow?
The problem, however, is that Marcus is not a genius as he plays.
Since childhood, he has worked part-time in various fields and is rich in knowledge, and even in such circumstances, his head was good because he went to school with a scholarship.
Still, the reality was that it was not enough compared to geniuses who were famous in history.
So Marcus added effort to his efforts by spending enough time and effort to twist his stomach.
Based on the historical knowledge he knows, he organized the countermeasures one by one by considering the number of hundreds of cases.
Since things might go differently than expected, he considered new possibilities daily and focused on finding solutions.
His confidence-filled voice and facial expression now are also the product of his constant efforts.
He practiced more than a thousand times looking in the mirror, how to speak in a more reliable voice and what expression he should make to look more relaxed.
Of course, he didn't think that this genius act was painful.
The present acting is the image of the future that he considers ideal.
Even if it is not enough now, he will only continue to carry it out so that it will become a reality someday.
Having made up his mind, Marcus greeted Pompeius appropriately and left the mansion.
Anyway, things are going according to plan, so his work is set.
'Seeing that Pompeius is caring about Lucullus, it's clear that the time is ripe.'
In Rome, optimism about the situation in the east is a sign that wheat prices will plunge soon.
The opportunity to make a fortune is approaching.