Chapter 174: Signs of Civil War 2
Chapter 174: Signs of Civil War 2
Octavius concluded that he no longer had time to leisurely take over the palace.
Arsinoe and Cleopatra, who agreed with his opinion, also decided to quickly settle the matter.
Fortunately, the people’s support was already leaning towards the Pharaoh.
All they had to do was to provoke the Macedonian nobles and make them move.
Octavius and Cleopatra repeatedly pondered over a good way to do that.
As a result, they agreed that they had no choice but to take some risks.
“I don’t usually prefer this method, but I think we have no other option this time.”
“Sometimes, you need to be bold when you gamble. Marcus’s actions seem to be testing our abilities to some extent.”
The reply letter from Marcus did not contain any specific instructions.
It only wrote a rough plan of what Marcus would do in the future.
To Cleopatra, that phrase seemed like a message to prepare everything on her own.
Of course, even if she did nothing, Marcus would be able to crush the Macedonian nobles in a short time.
He had the ability and power to do so.
But at the same time, his evaluation of Cleopatra would inevitably plummet.
Octavius and Arsinoe were out of the question.
Octavius was still young and he came only to help Cleopatra and Arsinoe.
As for Arsinoe, Marcus did not expect anything from her in terms of ability from the beginning.
What Marcus wanted from Arsinoe was absolute loyalty that would never betray him.
In that regard, Cleopatra sometimes envied her sister.
However, this also had a positive aspect for Cleopatra.
At least, unlike her sister, Cleopatra was also expected by Marcus in terms of ability.
So she wanted to achieve something and gain his recognition by any means.
Thankfully, she recently realized that Octavius also had a similar mind.
Octavius wanted to prove his ability to Marcus.
It was a bit different from the young children who wanted their parents’ approval.
It felt like a deeper and more intense desire.
She thought he could afford to be more relaxed since he was young, but he seemed to have his own thoughts.
Anyway, for this matter, they perfectly agreed with each other.
They were not completely trustworthy, but they were reliable as long as they did not betray each other.
“If we corner them, they will react in some way. It is your job, Pharaoh, to guide them to our advantage.”
“I was going to do that anyway.”
Cleopatra acted as soon as she made up her mind.
She started to pressure the Macedonian nobles more aggressively than before.
Until now, she had only subtly annoyed them, but now it was different.
Cleopatra announced several decrees in the name of the Pharaoh.
She declared four major reforms.
The first was the abolition of the privileges enjoyed by the Macedonian nobles.
From now on, mixed-bloods who were not pure Macedonian could also run for office elections.
She did not open the door of office to the Egyptian natives yet, considering the sentiment of Alexandria citizens.
But that was not the real problem.
The second measure that Cleopatra announced completely angered the nobles.
It was that without the Pharaoh’s approval, it was impossible to run for election at all.
Cleopatra explained that it was a measure to prevent those who committed blatant corruption from running for election.
But no one who was not a fool would believe that word for word.
This was nothing but a declaration that anyone who was not loyal to the Pharaoh should not even dream of holding office.
The third content was also outrageous.
An announcement was made to the generals that they would change the primitive legion system into a more advanced one.
This caused a backlash that was different from the previous two.
It was too obvious that it was an intention to take away all the military power from the nobles.
Cleopatra, who had already decided to exclude the Macedonian nobles, did not care about their feelings at all and finished her work.
She finally proclaimed that she would distribute the land illegally occupied by the nobles to Alexandria citizens.
Naturally, Alexandria turned upside down.
Everyone knew that the new Pharaoh had an uncomfortable relationship with the nobles, but no one expected her to openly wield a sword against them.
The nobles, including Theodorus, the judge of justice, were furious beyond words.
“The Pharaoh must be crazy. There is no other explanation for this.”
Achillas, who sat on his knees and lost all his soldiers, was especially angry.
“This is a declaration of war against us. Changing the military system is just a lame excuse.
How would you reorganize the army in the first place? You would obviously bring in the Roman formation, and then the Romans would naturally pour into Egypt. Cleopatra’s intention is to hand over the military power to the Romans, not us, and to manipulate this country as she pleases.”
“You are right. This is a serious problem.”
The nobles who gathered at the high-ranking noble meeting were all pure-blooded Macedonians without exception.
Cleopatra’s current actions seemed to deny everything of their great ancestors, not just themselves.
One of the nobles who could not suppress his anger spat out a word as he looked around.
“Isn’t there only one way left in this situation?”
“…”
There was no answer, but everyone’s feelings were similar.
However, no one had the courage to say that word out loud.
Everyone’s eyes naturally turned to the person who could be the center of gravity for them.
Theodorus sighed deeply with a troubled expression.
“We have only two choices. One is to give up all our power and lie flat. Then we will have to live as Pharaoh’s dogs for the rest of our lives.”
“Besides, the Macedonian culture that we have built up for hundreds of years will be lost. Look at what Pharaoh is doing now.
Where is Macedonia in that palace? If we bow to Pharaoh, that monstrous Egyptian culture will erode the whole of Alexandria. In a few years, the native Egyptians will roam the streets of Alexandria as they please. It’s horrible to imagine.”
“But rebellion… I don’t see much chance of success no matter how I think about it.”
The word rebellion came out directly and the surroundings became quiet for a moment.
Originally, rebellion was a capital crime that could not be said even if it was mentioned.
So far, many Ptolemies have been ousted from their seats, but most of them were kings who had already lost the support of the people.
The case of Auletes, the former Pharaoh, being driven out by Berenice was the best example.
A pharaoh who lost the support of the people of Alexandria was often expelled by the nobles.
Strictly speaking, this was also a rebellion, but it was not a big burden for the nobles.
They only had to pressure the pharaoh who lost the people’s hearts by inciting the people.
But this time it was different.
A considerable number of Alexandria’s citizens supported Cleopatra.
Of course, some citizens who supported pure Macedonian blood criticized Pharaoh, but at least 60% of the citizens supported Cleopatra.
The citizens also reacted positively to the four reforms announced this time.
It didn’t matter much to their lives whether they reorganized the army or how they recruited officials.
Rather, they were more impressed by the announcement that they would recover and return to the citizens the property that had been illegally profited from.
If they did not have the support of the citizens, they would have to overthrow the royal family by force.
If they calculated the difference in power between the two sides, there was no chance of winning.
Cleopatra had more military power than she did now, even if she tried to control it.
If they only looked at Cleopatra’s expulsion, they had a higher chance of success.
The problem was what happened next.
If Cleopatra came down with the Roman army like Auletes, there was nothing they could do as Macedonian nobles.
It was the same even if they killed Cleopatra so that she could not escape.
In that case, Rome would surely invade with the pretext that they had killed Pharaoh whom they recognized.
The purpose of rebellion was to create new power.
There was no point in raising a rebellion if they simply cut off the king’s neck and then lost their own necks.
That’s what Theodorus meant when he said there was no possibility.
Even if they drove Cleopatra away, they couldn’t see a way to maintain their power.
And no one could refute his words.
Even Achillas, who should have been at the forefront of rebellion, agreed with Theodorus’ opinion.
“What worries me is that Pharaoh’s actions are too radical. I don’t know about Arsinoe, but Cleopatra is a thoughtful woman. She must have judged that it would be okay to push us like this. She is definitely trying to pressure us.”
“I think so too. Maybe she is planning to lure us into rebellion and then crush us.”
The faces of the nobles who were about to shout out to raise their troops turned pale in an instant.
It seemed highly likely that it was true when they heard it.
Cleopatra was not a fool. There must have been a reason for her sudden appearance like this.
They couldn’t move without finding out for sure.
The scribe who had been quietly listening to the story opened his mouth cautiously.
“What about the Roman boy who is close to Pharaoh? Didn’t you say you would find out if you could use him?”
“Surely, if we have any hope, we have no choice but to rely on him. I’ve already bribed the servants in the palace and received regular reports. Lately, Cleopatra has been calling that boy to her bedroom late at night. I don’t know what they are doing inside, but well, isn’t it obvious?”
“She claims to revive the tradition of Egypt, but in reality she rolls around with a Roman pretty boy… Wouldn’t this be a good propaganda material?”
“No. If there is no evidence, it could backfire. Unless it’s a sure card, don’t make a foolish mistake of exposing it prematurely.”
Theodorus never forgot for a moment how he was able to stand in his current position.
He was not the center of the Macedonian nobles because of his excellent abilities.
It was because the people above him had lost their heads one by one in pursuit of greater power.
Their common point was that they all tried to plot against Marcus.
So Theodorus wanted to approach it in a different way.
He didn’t want to stand on the opposite side of Marcus, but to use his power to seize the power of Egypt.
So he shouldn’t start a rebellion.
He had to drive Cleopatra away without going against Rome’s will as much as possible.
Achillas frowned and bit his tongue as he listened to his explanation.
“Is that possible? I’m sure Pharaoh is acting like that because he is confident that Rome is backing him up.”
“It’s hard, but it’s better than starting a rebellion. And according to what I’ve investigated so far, the one who receives Marcus’ favor is not Cleopatra. It’s Arsinoe.”
“···Is that true?”
“Yes. Think about it. If you were him, would you watch the woman you love playing on the bed with a commoner boy every night?”
Achillas slowly shook his head.
The reactions of the other nobles were not much different.
Theodorus smiled contentedly and continued.
“Even when Marcus came to Egypt last time, the person who was always with him was not Cleopatra, but Arsinoe. As evidence, Arsinoe never brought that Roman boy to her bedroom late at night.”
“Then are you saying that it’s not true that Marcus is backing up Cleopatra?”
“No, of course not. It’s just that their relationship is not bound by love between men and women. It’s probably a result of their interests matching for the efficient rule of Egypt. Arsinoe is inferior to Cleopatra in terms of ability anyway.”
“But nothing changes, does it? After all, the fact that Marcus is backing up Cleopatra doesn’t change.”
“It does change. If Marcus’ favor is more tilted towards Arsinoe than Cleopatra, it means that there is only one person who can drive Cleopatra away without angering Rome.”
The other nobles also understood what Theodorus was trying to say.
In fact, this story was not the first time it came up.
But they couldn’t make a decision before because they couldn’t tell which side had more power between Arsinoe and Cleopatra.
And more importantly, there was one problem that had to be resolved first.
“Arsinoe might be able to give us a chance if she breaks away from Cleopatra. But she doesn’t have any reason to be hostile to Cleopatra, does she?”
“No, there is one thing. It’s obvious that Cleopatra is running the state affairs right now. Even Sextus Pompeius, who received VIP treatment right now, had a private meeting with Cleopatra, not Arsinoe. If we persuade her well, it might be surprisingly easy to make them drift apart.”
“I see. In fact, they weren’t very close in the past. It seems worth considering.”
“Yes. I’ll have to talk to Arsinoe soon.”
It was not uncommon for siblings to kill each other for power in the Ptolemaic dynasty.
If you look at the long history of the royal family, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it was something that always happened at least once.
Just look at Berenice, who tried to kill her father Auletes, and Auletes who tried to execute her in retaliation.
Theodorus thought he could move Arsinoe enough depending on what they did.
If it took on the appearance of a civil war rather than a rebellion, Marcus would not be able to execute the nobles recklessly.
Theodorus waited for the right time to meet Arsinoe after completing all his plans and preparations.
But unexpectedly, the other side moved first.
Ganymedes, a eunuch who served Arsinoe, came to Theodorus in the middle of the night and delivered her secret letter.
“Pharaoh wants to talk to you urgently. Please enter the palace quickly.”