The Mad Tycoon of Rome Chapter 262: Succession Structure 3

< 262. Succession Structure 3 >

No, thats

Marcus was montarily lost in thought at the unexpected question.

He didnt intend to keep it a secret.

He just wanted to explain it step by step after everything was ready.

He knew that if he spoke before then, he would get a reaction like this.

Marcus was not sure how much information he should give.

His hesitation was misunderstood by Julia, whose face grew darker.

You dont do anything without thinking. Thats why Ive been watching you But you didnt really do it without thinking, did you?

Of course not. Have I ever done anything impulsively?

No. But Im worried because its related to your child. Even the most rational and logical person can beco emotional when it cos to their child. Especially you, youve been too attached to Sophia since before. You know Im not being anxious for no reason, right?

Marcus made a faintly embarrassed expression and looked around.

As Julia said, considering his actions so far, it was unreasonable to tell her not to worry.

He eventually decided that it would be better to reveal as much as possible.

Youre probably right about what youre thinking. But of course I didnt do anything impulsively, and Ive prepared everything thoroughly, so you dont have to worry. If you have any concerns, feel free to ask . Ill answer them all.

Are you really going to make your daughter your successor? Its completely against the Roman sentint.

It doesnt matter if its a daughter or a son. Im giving my position to soone who has the ability to do so. The successor of the Julius Reginius family will be regarded as a living god who has descended in this era. So it doesnt matter if its a man or a woman. Of course, Im not going to insist on that, but Im going to make the Romans naturally feel that way. Ive already started preparing for that.

Are you going to cause the sa innovations that youve done so far with Sophia in front of you?

Yes. Changes that no one has ever imagined will happen and the glory will go to Sophia. She might even enjoy more fa than . People have a different feeling for goddesses than for gods. They are sacred beings, holy maidens, mothers, sothing like that. They can give both feelings at the sa ti.

If he considered how much respect and reverence the queens of England had received, he could roughly guess the reaction.

If Marcuss breath was involved, she would probably receive more respect and love than the queens of England in their heyday.

Julia fell silent for a mont and thought.

If what Marcus said was true, it seed that there was no difficulty for his daughter to reach the highest position in Ro.

It would be a problem if it was a person, but it would be different if it was a god.

There would be no problem if it was seen as soone who had the qualifications of a god taking that position.

There might be so criticism about how he would do that, but Marcus also offered a solution.

If he achieved achievents equivalent to those he had achieved so far, such as innovation in agriculture, reducing the incidence of disease by distributing soap, inventing paper and printing press, no one could complain.

The real problem was whether such great inventions could co out in the future, but Marcus gave him a definite answer that it was possible.

Then he could say that he had lessened his biggest worry.

But that wasnt the end of the problem.

Werent you considering Octavius as a son-in-law?

Hes the one with the most ideal conditions. Hes from a commoner background but has a noble bloodline, and his ability is outstanding beyond anyones reach. And most importantly, Sophia seems to like Octavius, so shouldnt I respect her wishes?

I agree that hes the best son-in-law if you only look at the conditions. But thats only if youre healthy.

Are you worried that Octavius will show his true colors when I die?

Julia nodded slowly.

I know it might be an excessive worry, but I cant say that the possibility is zero. You said Octavius has an outstanding ability, but hes more than just excellent.

He also has a ruthlessness that can cut off anything for his purpose. Even if Sophia takes the highest position, shes still a woman after all. How can you be sure that Octavius wont dominate Ro in reality?

That might be possible if you only look at his abilities. Octavius is definitely on a different level.

Politically speaking, there was no one in Ro who could match Octavius except Marcus.

Even Caesar might be inferior to Octavius if he only looked at politics.

If he beca Sophias husband, there was no guarantee that he wouldnt try to take over Ro.

He would have the ability and the background to do so.

Unless Octavius dies before you, it doesnt matter. Hes a weak child

No. Hell probably live disgustingly long. People who whine like that usually have a long life.

In the original history, Octavius lived until he was 75 years old.

That was an amazing longevity for an ancient person.

If Marcus wanted to live longer than Octavius, he would have to live almost 100 years old, but he honestly didnt have the confidence.

He couldnt guarantee anything about human lifespan, even with the help of modern dicine.

How could he say for sure how long he would live in ancient tis?

Marcus quickly added more words before Julias expression darkened after hearing his answer.

But theres sothing you havent considered. Octavius is fatally lacking in one ability.

What is that? He seed to be good at everything as far as I could see

Thats inevitable. I never entrusted him with anything related to the military. But Octavius is seriously deficient in military ability. No, thats not an appropriate word either. Hes just a person who has no military talent at all.

Julia widened her eyes and tilted her head.

How can you be sure that he has no talent if you never entrusted him with it? There are cases where you think he cant do it, but when you try it, he does surprisingly well Theyre more common than you think.

Marcus looked at her gently, who was not fully convinced.

Its a fact that has already been perfectly verified. So dont worry.

There were three major factors that enabled Octavius to reach the peak of Ro in the original history.

The first was, needless to say, Octavius outstanding political ability.

The ability that Octavius possessed was so different that he could manipulate not only his own situation but also his competitors perfectly.

The second was the legitimacy of being Caesars rightful successor.

It was because Caesar had designated him as his successor in his will that a young man who had just beco an adult and was unknown could form his own faction.

Octavius emphasized and obsessed over the fact that he was Caesar until he received the title of Augustus.

In fact, in the civil war he fought with Antonius, he spared all of Antonius and Cleopatras children, but killed Caesar and Cleopatras child rcilessly.

He had to be the only successor of Caesar.

And the third was the existence of a friend who could supplent his lack of military talent.

Caesar saw through Octavius lack of military talent long ago and gave him Agrippa, an outstanding person.

In fact, most of the military victories that Octavius achieved until he beca emperor were commanded by Agrippa.

Agrippa was a commoner of ordinary birth who had nothing special in terms of status, so he faithfully played the role of a loyal assistant in Octavius shadow.

In other words, Marcus had already taken away two of the three advantages that Octavius had in the original history.

Octavius now had neither the sole successor of Caesar nor soone who could compensate for his lack of military talent.

Rather, the legitimacy was with Marcus children, and Agrippa would also beco a knight who pledged loyalty to Sophia.

Moreover, his eldest son, Trajanus, was a very talented child in terms of military ability.

If he looked at his aptitude, he would rather welco him to be a general who commanded the army than to do politics that he didnt have any luck with.

If Trajanus and Agrippa took over the military power, Ros military strength would be completely dominated by the Julius Licinius family.

Anyone who did not have military power in Ro could never cause a great event.

No matter how high their political ability was, this was an unchanging truth.

Even if they cornered their opponents politically, in the end, the final decision was made by force.

And above all, if Octavius had such ability, he would realize this fact himself and restrain himself from doing so.

After hearing the detailed explanation, Julia finally relieved her worries about Octavius.

But its not over yet. Hearing your explanation makes worry about one more thing. Rather, this might be the biggest source of anxiety. What if the children who are qualified to be successors rebel because they are pushed out of the competition? What if there is a slight difference in their abilities and they are all excellent? What if the child who fails to beco a successor rebels and there are forces that sympathize with him? It seems to that it would be a perfect environnt for a civil war to break out.

Julias insight was indeed exceptional.

Giving the throne to the most outstanding person seed practical at first glance, but this could naturally cause a civil war.

The ability to beco emperor ans that anyone with ability can overthrow the throne.

In fact, in the original history, Ro, where the emperors authority was shaken in the late imperial period, had several civil wars.

How many civil wars were there that so people even described them as folk gas?

Julias concern was very reasonable.

But Marcus had the best counterasure to prevent this.

My successors will be given absolute dignity and legitimacy that no one can shake. You dont have to worry about that.

Even if you hold the nations treasury and legions, that can be shaken over ti

No, thats not it. My successors will inherit the wisdom of God that no one else knows. If I arrange it so that only the person who is designated as a successor can see it, no one can deny it.

The wisdom of God

Literally. Who else can doubt it?

Marcus had prepared secret information that only his successors could see in the form of a will.

He couldnt write down all the knowledge he could see, so he only picked out the realistic parts and made them into books, but the amount was so much that it was almost tens of volus.

He divided the things he pushed forward using the knowledge of the future into three stages.

What he could finish in his generation, and what he could finish in the next generation, and what would only be possible in the distant future.

For example, reforming the administrative system and expanding educational facilities were things he could finish while he was alive.

And he thought that it would have an effect around the ti when Sophia or her successor ascended to the throne to be able to destroy the celestial order of the Middle Kingdom (Han Dynasty).

Finally, things like antibiotics or the establishnt of a true democracy would be possible after so more ti had passed.

Marcus wrote down the things that his successors had to know, the appropriate ans to achieve them, and the effective ways to elevate his authority for this.

A representative example was the volcanic eruption of Pompeii and the earthquake that would hit Antioch.

What if the successors of the future predicted these national disasters with precise years and dates? How would the people of that ti react?

If such a thing actually happened, then the words of Marcus successors would beco literally the voice of God.

Of course, as history went on, the gap between the original history and this one would grow bigger, so writing down the details might not be very helpful.

But anyway, looking at the current rate of developnt, it would only take a few generations for democracy or true republicanism to sprout.

By then, the emperors position would be aningless.

He might not be beheaded like the royal families of France or Russia, but there was no guarantee that he would never do so.

He just had to write down information that would help his descendants until they could retire with as much praise as possible.

The words that Marcus left for his descendants would beco the true scriptures left by God, and they would follow them without a doubt.

Of course, even if he told Julia all this, it was obvious that she wouldnt believe it properly at this point.

So he just told her a story that he had heard the voice of God in a way that suited him.

Caesar and Julia did not doubt that Marcus was blessed by the gods, so they surprisingly accepted it easily.

Marcus decided to move up his schedule a little more after telling Julia most of the facts and went straight to Octavius.

As expected, Octavius seed to have a rough idea of what Marcus was going to say just from the recent situation.

Did you co here for sothing related to Lady Sophia?

You probably already guessed it, so theres no need to waste ti explaining it. Thats why I like talking to you.

Youre too kind. I only know that its related to Lady Sophia, but I cant guess exactly what youre going to say.

Octavius lowered himself tightly and listened to Marcus words that followed.

Its up to you and Sophia to refine this thousand-year empire that my father-in-law and I built into an eternal empire. You will beco one who knows everything under heaven. But there will be one price to pay.

What is that?

You cant pass on your surna to your children from Sophia. From now on, the won of the Licinius imperial family will inherit matrilineally as descendants of the goddess of Ro.

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