Curia Hostilia, Consulate of Saturninus/Galerius

[Gaius Julius Civilis]

"Are these men suddenly not plebes anymore then? And have they all actively rebelled, or were most of them misled by pretty speeches made by demagogues who used these poor soldiers as means to achieve their own tyrannic ends? Killing all the soldiers is randomly killing plebes whether you like it or not and I for one will not agree with it under any circumstances.

But there is little we can say or do to have an influence in this matter, as it is ultimately up to our Praetor to decide what to do with the surrendering soldiers (if any) and the people of Rhegion. So let us leave this matter and carry on with more important debates, like the economic reports we are still waiting for."

[Winter]

Senator Falco I have heard enough!

Praetor Lepidus steps forward.

You have sat here impugning my honor and dignity and that of my like minded colleagues all day, and I will now put it to an end.

We do not call for the random slaughter of Plebieans, Senator! Can you not see that none among us want to send Roman against Roman? It is anathema to everything in our being! But we simply cannot tolerate insubordunation and open rebellion in our legion! We cannot allow the legions of Rome to see that the Senate will allow them to break away! What if we are on a long campaign, gods forbid, and the soldiers become rebellious? Will they see our example today, one of allowing an open rebellion to fester and do nothing, and make good on their attempt, perhaps causing us to lose a war? Or will they see us put down a flagrant affront to our Roman laws and Virtues?

I for one, senator, will see to it that it is the latter, and if you do not have the stomach for this work I suggest you return to your villa.

[Gaius Julius Civilis]

My dear Praetor, I am not opposed to shedding blood, I am opposed to needlessly shedding innocent blood. But then again, I am not the man who has to face Hades with such a crime on his soul. Do as you please, and pray for forgiveness to the senate or the gods, whichever you displease most. This is my final word on the matter, let us wait for the Quaestores and their report, and the Roman news from Rhegion.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

I must agree to Senator Falco to a certain extent. If we hadn't sent that legion to the south with no commander, then they wouldn't have rebelled, so it is just as much a fault of ours as it is a fault of theirs to rebel. Therefore, we must have lenience on them. True, we will take their city and destroy the rebellion, but I believe that those Romans deserve no more than just the punishment of defeat, though if the Senate thinks crueler punishment is fitting, then enslavement at the worth. But extermination by the sword? No! How the peoples bordering the Mediterranean will laugh at us to see that we kill our own countrymen.

[Winter]

No one is suggesting killing the people of Rhegium, if that is what you think. However we must severely punish those soldiers who would take up arms against us.

[Pontifex Maximus]

Caius Scipio rubs his forehead and utters a sigh.

[Snowball]

The praetor is completely right, this is a matter of maintaining military discipline now and in the future just as much as it is a matter of punishing the rebels.

I for one will not let my emotions stand in the way of what needs to be done for the good of the Republic.

However, it is the praetors imperium and he will do as he sees fit. Now i wonder where that economics report is.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

We still await the report of the Quaestor. However, if no report is seen by the end of the week (OOC: for another day or so), I believe our praetor will have to proceed with the assault, regardless of whether or not we get the economic report. We can't afford to dally.

[Snowball]

I completely agree, and i hope this kind of tardiness doesn`t become a habit with our office holders. First the consul (Rex) and now our Quaestor!

[Gaius Julius Civilis]

I hereby propose consular Lucius Scribonius for the position of Quaestor, so he may absolve himself of the criticism he received for his Tarentine campaign and prove himself an able and proper administrator.

Scribonius, you have the opportunity to refuse it, and Senators, you have the opportunity to vote against it. What say you?

[Xavier Dragnesi]

I believe this is a fine proposal, because the consular needs to prove himself once again as an able administrator, so that we can later trust him with more important jobs with Republic. Besides, we are in need of another Quaestor anyway, due to the first being too busy to provide a report. Who better than Lucius Scribonius?

[Snowball]

I am for it.

[Selifator]

Aye, let Scribonius rise as Quaestor, he is a capable man and his abilities shall surely aid Rome.

[Xavier Dragnesi]

It seems most senators are in favour of such an action. Would my junior colleague like to put up the voting? And Senator Scribonius yourself, do you have anything to say to this?

[Winter]

A messenger enters the Curia hall. He is recognized by the Consuls and brought forward. He removes the message from his satchel and begins to read:


"These being the words of Praetor Lucius Aurelius Lepidus."

Senators, I apologize for the tardiness of my report, I had some issues organizing the legion for this march, but I can assure you that all is well as of now. We are currently on the road south to the town of Rhegium to root out the rebel scum.



I have brought along with me the entire legion minus the equites, and have recruited a unit of Bruttian infantry in Capua. These troops will either be sent to garrison in Tarentum or will join up with our legion at the town.




I worry that our depleted forces may pose an issue against the fresh legion in the town, and I know that their leader was a Roman general before his cowardly rebellion. However, I can assure the Senate that, Mars and Minerva willing, I will only return to Rome with full victory, and nothing else. Tarentum will be ours by the end of this term.

I urge the senate to consider a plan for construction following our annexation of Tarentum. It has been far too long since improvements were undertaken, and with the addition of these two Greek cities, no doubt countless improvements such as roads, ports, and farming plans will need to be made.

I also urge the Senate to sue the Epriotes for a ceasefire. We have dragged on this war long enough, and with the capture of Tarentum, we have the upper hand. There is no way the Epriotes could refuse a ceasefire, and we may yet be able to gain a favorable deal from it.

I will write the Senate soon with news of the siege, whether or not we have yet captured the town. In the mean time I beg the senate to consider my proposals with vigour, as we are in a delicate situation.

Until my next letter,

Roma Victor.

Praetor L. Au. Lepidus.

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ooc: Sorry about how late this report is. I had some EB trouble that is cleared up now.

[Selifator]

Ah, good to hear that our praetor is moving swiftly towards his target. Also senators, as the praetor has suggested we must discuss the infrastructure of our cities.
Our core is in good shape, but these new additions to our republic must be brought up to standard. This will also show our new subjects the glory that will become theirs now they are part of the republic.

[Philos Sophos]

"I agree with you senator Caelinus,our infrastructure must be the best if we want to be ready for future wars and also for our economy to rise to a new level.It brings population happiness too as you said,senator,and the population of Taras will turn Roman because they will see how god we are for them for building new things that they have never seen before.

And yes,we must sue for a ceasefire with the Epriotes so we can concentrate on liberating the whole of Italy.

I wish the praetor the best and I'm sure that he will bring us victory."

[Xavier Dragnesi]

All the best to our Praetor as he makes his way to the rebel city and legion. May the gods watch over him as he leads our armies into battle.

On the point of infrastructure, it is definitely true that we should consolidate our newly conquered territories by building Roman buildings, temples and structures which will allow the inhabitants of the area to slowly but sure adapt to Roman living. It would be excellent if information on what is already in Taras, and what could be constructed, would be collected by a senator so that we may discuss further what to do there.

P.S. 3900th post

[We shall fwee...Wode]

Greetings senators and I apologise for my absence, but I have been feeling less than well.(I moved into uni and couldn't get internet till just now so replaced YATS with copious amounts of alcohol.)

I too believe that our diplomats should depart immediatly to Epieros, but also Macedon and the Hellas to make friends and establish safe trade between our peoples. What does the house say to this?

[Xavier Dragnesi]

I say that this is a good plan. Our treasury is running low, and it will be a few years before our newly conquered lands begin churning in some money. So trade with the east, especially such a fertile and rich area like the Greek and Macedonian lands, will surely yield us quite a bit of profit.