If their first sentence slightly alerted the plebeians, the subsequent slander against Marcus touched the plebeians' sensitive nerves, “You are the lackey of the Cornelia house and was the one to falsely accused Lord Marcus at the citizen assembly!”
“Graeus, you were among the nobles who captured Lord Marcus. How dare you even show your face to us!”
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Someone suddenly shouted when the crowd became agitated, “Kill them, avenge Lord Marcus!” Soon, the argument turned into a brawl, with the venue becoming chaotic as screams and cries rang out.
“Your Majesty!” Seeing the situation from the state, Tolmides quickly asked Davos for his instructions, “Should we stop them?”
Davos shook his head and said, “Wait.”
After a while, the salpinx sounded, and the soldiers surrounding the Roman Forum let out a thunderous roar. Then a platoon pushed through the crowd, revealing a gruesome sight: several nobles and their followers were beaten mercilessly. The soldiers swiftly intervened, pulling the nobles and their followers aside while medical personnel tended to the injured plebeians.
Then once the crowd calmed down, Davos continued to speak, “I am afraid you are still unaware that after learning of his false accusation, Marcus covertly wrote a letter to his family where he showed he wasn’t afraid of death. Do you want to know what he said in the letter?”
The Romans' curiosity and guild prompted them to shout without hesitation after listening to the interpreter's translation, “Yes!!!…”
“Then let's have Publilius Manlius read this letter to you,” The Romans were surprised after hearing Davos' words. After all, Publilius Manlius, a senator of the Roman Senate and the current head of the Manlia house, had actually joined hands with the Theonians?!
The people expressing their doubts had their eyes widened in surprise as a figure emerged onto the platform. To their astonishment, it was none other than Publilius Manlius himself.
Faced with the gaze of the Romans, the current head of the Manlia house bowed his head in shame. Suddenly, Davos' voice rang in his ear, “We should start, Lord Publilius!”
At these words, Publilius trembled as his body recalled the horrific scene of the night before. The image of vicious Theonian soldiers severing the heads of Roman nobles he was familiar with right before his very eyes flashed through his mind. The sight of the blood-soaked ground and scattered heads shattered his already fragile resolve. Desperate for his family's survival, he made the difficult decision to surrender, just as he had succumbed to the Senators before renouncing the family name of Capitolinus when Marcus faced execution by the Senate.
Under the gaze of the smiling Davos, his trembling hands took out the letter that Davos dictated, in which he had imitated Marcus' handwriting, “…Pu…Publilius, my brother, there's no need to continue…persuading me. I am fully aware of the Senate's treacherous ploy to falsely accuse me of plotting the reinstatement of monarchy, all to justify my execution!
I have bravely fought throughout my life without ever bowing down to anyone. So I will never stoop so low as to kneel before them and plead for mercy, even if they heap false accusations upon me, tarnish my reputation, and sow doubt among the loyal commoners who stand by my side. I shall remain fearless and resolute!
My only regret is that I once promised to help those who believed and followed me to fight the Senate alongside me, to help them lift their heavy debts, bestow them their own land, and to let their livestock graze on the public land of Rome! In fact, I still have something I wish to present to them that I have yet to tell them: to give them the opportunity to serve in high-ranking positions in Rome and even become senators and consuls… Unfortunately, I could no longer fulfil these wishes.
I have come to a profound understanding that mere words alone cannot effectively fight for the rights of the common people. If the gods were to grant me another chance, I would arm the people and overthrow the oppressive and rapacious rule of the Roman nobility with our sharp spears and the fury in our hearts. We would establish a magnificent system of governance akin to the Kingdom of Theonia in the south of Rome, which I have frequently recounted to you. In this kingdom, every citizen would enjoy equal rights, irrespective of their social status as nobles or commoners!” While reading this, Publilius cast a glance towards Davos—the actual author of this letter—listening intently as if this letter written by Marcus was real.
When his eyes glanced below the platform, he saw many people sobbing, making him freeze momentarily. Then he subconsciously increased his tone and continued to read, “Publilius, my brother, our house will now have to rely on you. If possible, try to help the group of unfortunate commoners…I am reluctant to die under the charge of dictatorship! Those who stand to gain from my demise should not celebrate too soon, as the gods above shall exact their punishment for the injustice done to me! Signed: Marcus Manlius Capitolinus”
After Publilius finished reading the letter, the sound of crying filled the entire Roman Forum, the majority harbouring no doubt about the letter's authenticity. They were deeply touched by Marcus' unwavering commitment to their rights, even in the face of death, and felt ashamed for their lack of decisiveness in saving such a remarkable and noble leader.
Amidst the people's crying, someone shouted excitedly, “Marcus!”
Then countless people responded loudly, “Marcus!!! Marcus!!! Marcus!!!…”
As the people shouted Marcus’ name simultaneously and wildly, it echoed over the city of Rome, shocking the senators and nobles on Mons Capitolinus. They then stared at the Roman Forum, thinking these Romans were fighting against the Theonians, not knowing that these Roman commoners were madly mourning the nobles' most hated traitor.
The exhilaration among the Romans lasted for some time before gradually calming down.
Then Davos exclaimed, “The plague that struck Rome a year after Marcus' death was in no way the warning from the gods against Marcus' attempt for dictatorship, as those priests had said. Instead, it was the gods' punishment for those who falsely accused Rome's great hero! And today, we Theonians had come to Rome, also in response to Marcus' curse to overthrow those high and mighty Roman nobles who oppressed you so viciously and to establish a new Rome with you just like what Marcus said in his letter!”
While Davos gave his passionate speech, Publilius Manlia kept nodding beside him.
Although the Romans were still vigilant and suspicious of Davos, the anger in their gaze had somewhat lessened.
Someone boldly asked, “How will you build a new Rome with us?!”
“Good question!” Davos immediately responded, “Now, my newly appointed vice praetor of Rome will answer your question and issue my order!”
Then, the Roman saw a man wearing a magnificent chiton walk up towards the platform with his head held high. After bowing towards King Davos respectfully, he turned to face the crowd below.
Some at the forefront and living in Rome's slums suddenly widened their eyes in surprise and muttered, ‘Isn't he Valerius?!’
Another person immediately shouted,“ Valerius, is that you?!”
Valerius raised his head and said proudly, “I am now the vice praetor of Rome appointed by His Majesty the King. I hold a higher position than the magistrate, you know of, so show me respect when you speak to me next time!”
As soon as he said this, an uproar arose below the platform as everyone began whispering. Soon, word quickly spread among the crowd about a Roman commoner who had once been enslaved, now holding a high-ranking position in the Kingdom of Theonia, standing on the platform to lecture them.
Davos calmly watched the commotion on stage and felt satisfied at Valerius's tremendous impact as an example to all Roman civilians. Especially since he knew that in Italia and the western Mediterranean region, citizens of one city-state sometimes leave their original city-state for some reason and join another city-state, perhaps even an enemy state, yet they would often not get highly valued. Once they are unable to enter the inner circle of a city-state, they often end up becoming a commoner, which was one of the primary sources for Rome's plebeians(naturally, there will also be some clans from other city-states which would bring hundreds of people to join Rome and are accepted by Rome's patrician houses, sharing power and then become nobles). Persia, for example, is one of the few forces in the entire Mediterranean that were open-minded in accepting foreign fugitives, even enemies, and giving them high status, which led to the Greeks, despite being sworn enemies of Persia, often going to Persia once they got expelled from their city-state.
And now, what would the Roman plebeians do after suddenly seeing Valerius' massive change in social status? Davos couldn’t wait to see it.
The Theonian soldiers roared again, restoring the calm in the Roman Forum.
Valerius cleared his throat, took a few deep breaths, and recalled the things he had memorised the previous day. Then, with a loud voice, he announced, “His Majesty King Davos declared from the time Theonia owned the city of Rome, he hereby cancelled all the debts owed by the commoners to the nobles. Furthermore, all the slaves of Rome are now free!”
As soon as he said that, all the slaves at the back cheered.
In contrast, the plebeians remained somewhat calmer. After all, with a foreign power seizing control of Rome and the majority of senators and nobles seeking refuge on Mons Capitolinus, they could no longer approach them to collect their debts. Furthermore, as long as the nobles could not repel the Theonians, their debts would be permanently written off.
