Inside the city of Rome.
Since the great cleansing of pirates throughout the Mediterranean, a large amount of cheap grain flooded the city of Rome, and as a result, Roman citizens noticed a great decrease in prices.
For many Roman citizens, the pride of belonging to Rome was secondary compared to the improvement in their quality of life.
The vast majority of average Roman citizens lived in precarious conditions.
Republican Rome was controlled by the privileged classes, who controlled large expanses of land and preferred to use slaves to cultivate or work.
Every year, a large number of Roman citizens were forced to migrate to the city of Rome due to the lack of opportunities for subsistence and survival.
On the other hand, the city of Rome was full of important figures who aspired to political office.
The votes of the Roman citizens who migrated to Rome became their source of income and only value.
Many senators, governors, tribunes, or anyone who desired political office had the habit of bribing or entertaining the citizens of Rome to gain their support.
"Panem et Circenses!"
Few nobles realized the influence that the people of Rome had on the political landscape.
In the original history, Julius Caesar used large amounts of money to feed and entertain the people, gaining his great reputation.
Septimus knew the great influence that the support of the Roman people would have, but he was indifferent.
Naturally, after the defeat of the Armenian army, the newspaper of Rome published news related to it throughout the Italian Peninsula.
Roman citizens cheered for Septimus and the brave legions of Campania.
The unpleasant rumor circulating around Septimus was also overshadowed.
"A great victory! General Septimus decisively defeated 360,000 enemy soldiers at the feet of the Armenian capital and conquered it. Nearly 100,000 enemy soldiers died and more than 100,000 were captured. The Queen of Armenia and several princes and princesses were taken prisoner!" shouted a newspaper seller while being surrounded by curious onlookers.
Because of the newspaper, news of the victory spread like wildfire throughout Rome the next day.
The senators were surprised by the great victory, but there were also those who criticized Septimus for not informing the Senate first.
Obviously, the senators would not attack or sanction the newspaper of Rome.
All of Rome knows that the newspaper is controlled by Septimus, and attacking it would mean reprisals.
The Senate's various opinions did not stop the enthusiasm of the newspaper sellers.
A newspaper seller climbed on top of a chair while shouting at the surrounding crowd; "Impressive! Since the expedition to Pontus, Septimus has defeated more than 130 legions. If the enemies he defeated in the civil war and in Africa are added, he has defeated more than 160 legions, surpassing Sulla, Marius, and Scipio Africanus, becoming the first in Roman history. The true god of war of Rome has been born!
"Septimus proposed to the Senate that Pontus, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and other places be designated as provinces, and it is likely that the Senate will accept this proposal."
"..."
The spectators exclaimed with excitement at the thrilling news.
The enthusiasm of the newspaper seller infected the surrounding crowd.
The reason for the enthusiasm of the newspaper sellers had to do with money.
The clones had many skills and abilities, but the constant killings and bloody experiences shaped their personalities into calm, cold, indifferent, gloomy, or twisted people.
Almost at the beginning of the creation of the newspaper, Septimus decided to replace the clones as sellers with normal people.
As a person from a different era, Septimus decided to pay a commission based on the number of newspapers sold.
The normal commercial practice for Septimus was considered a great incentive for many Roman citizens who lived in almost poverty.
The newspaper sellers were excited by the shocking news because it would increase their sales and commissions.
Scenes of newspaper sellers flattering Septimus and promoting his victory could be seen throughout all the Roman cities in Italy.
The crowd listening to the newspaper sellers was amazed by Septimus's military achievements.
Among the crowd, one person, unlike everyone else's excitement, was indifferent.
Crassus looked displeased as he listened to the newspaper seller flatter Septimus and glorify him.
Aside from his wealth and power achieved through usury and auctions during Sulla's war, very few Romans truly admired him.
Many people despised him or even hated him for engaging in usury.
People involved in usury do not have a good reputation in modern times, and in ancient Rome, it was also considered a despised profession.
Crassus had ambitions, and the accumulation of money was only an activity dedicated to fulfilling those ambitions.
Due to Septimus's butterfly effect, Crassus was not the richest man, but using his business acumen, he managed to amass a fortune.
Crassus's main source of money came from his illicit activities using his group of specialized firefighters.
Rome is an immense city of more than half a million people without urban planning, and as a result, fires became common.
A business opportunity arose from the overcrowding of people, and Crassus took advantage of it.
Thugs hired by Crassus caused fires in properties with sale value.
Later, the firefighters who worked for Crassus used various excuses to let the properties burn before looting them.
And finally, Crassus bought the property at a greatly reduced price and kept the looted objects inside the house.
The result was that Crassus's fortune accumulated, but his reputation was damaged.
In the City of Decapitation.
Inside a modern-style school, Sarah was distributing food to a group of small children.
Sarah, together with a group of women, was transported to the City of Decapitation with the purpose of assimilating and finding a partner among the men of Campania.
The possible partners of the captured women would obviously be chosen from among the clones.
After a long journey to Rome, Sarah was assigned to work in the cafeteria of a school.
All the boys and girls at the school had one thing in common: they were children of clones, although they did not know it.
"Thank you, Aunt Sarah," said a small boy of about six years old.
"Good boy," Sarah replied with a smile while gently patting the boy on the head.