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(Simulator) Chapter 108: Every Time a Husky is Added, Your Benefits Decrease—Are You Okay With That?
🕑 Added 2024-10-12 10:15:20 +0000 UTCNext came the seventh law—the revision of the "Provincial Law."
Historically, Tiberius encountered funding issues early in his reforms, making it difficult for them to continue.
After taking over his reform efforts, his brother Gaius learned from his brother's mistakes and put a lot of effort into the "Provincial Law."
This point was brought up early by Night.
The new Provincial Law stipulated that a portion of the revenue from Roman provinces would be directly allocated to fund reforms.
Finally, the eighth law proposed revisions to the "Electoral Law.".
In past Roman elections, the nobility would vote first, and only then would the common people get their turn.
The new Electoral Law proposes that nobles and commoners vote together, changing the system from the surface and reflecting the equality between nobles and commoners.
Gradually, it would subtly transform Rome's exploitative social structure.
Any change is never achieved overnight, but we can start with the most superficial aspects.
If we can't even make these surface changes, there's no hope of tackling the core issues.
Thus, all eight of the newly proposed laws have been submitted for review.
Most of the details were refined by the Gracchus brothers, with Night suggesting and establishing the general direction of the revised versions.
Some strategies are ahead of their time, while others have been trimmed.
One of the laws that was removed had sparked a massive storm in history—Gaius Gracchus's most radical reform: the Citizenship Reform Law.
Night indicated that they had exercised considerable restraint.
If they had introduced the Citizenship Reform Law, with its sweeping and provocative elements, the current Senate wouldn't just be urgently planning to assassinate Tiberius; they'd be mobilizing armies to wage war against the Gracchus family.
The original "Citizenship Reform Law" was designed entirely to support the "Agrarian Law.
In present-day Rome, besides Roman citizens (the inner circle), there were also many Latins—free people who were part of the Roman state but did not have voting rights.
Finally, there were the allied states, like the Italians, who were Rome's partners.
The reason there were so many different classes within Rome, even though they lived on the same land and allied states were treated similarly to larger Roman provinces, was rooted in early Rome's weakness.
To expand its territory and influence, it handed out citizenship freely.
But as Rome grew stronger, citizenship became more difficult to obtain, as they were reluctant to give it away.
After all, citizens enjoyed certain privileges.
Although these privileges mainly boiled down to the right to vote, which free people did not have and allied states did not envy.
On the Italian peninsula, people from allied states, like the Italians, could even avoid being bound by Roman law due to their status.
However, they lived alongside Romans.
This created legal complications during enforcement.
For example, if an Italian from an allied state seriously injured a Roman, the Roman legal system might demand the death penalty.
But due to the Italian's allied status, Roman law couldn't apply to them, creating an international legal dispute.
This kind of problem was difficult to resolve, and the Citizenship Reform Law proposed to elevate everyone's status.
If everyone became a Roman citizen, the agrarian law could be enforced without the obstacle of different statuses.
However, Night was keenly aware that this law was too idealistic—a wishful fantasy of Gaius Gracchus.
When this policy was introduced historically, it met with almost universal opposition.
First, the nobility of the allied states opposed it.
If their common people all became Roman citizens, what would become of the allied states?
They would essentially cease to exist.
Everyone knew that allied states were effectively Rome's vassals, almost indistinguishable from Rome itself.
But on the surface, they were still separate entities.
If this law passed, it would be the final nail in the coffin for the allied states.
Second, Roman citizens themselves opposed it.
This ties back to earlier legal reforms.
Before the reforms, Roman citizens had to provide their own equipment and rations when going to war.
As the backbone of the military, they bore the brunt of the dirty, dangerous work.
Yet, when it came time to divide the spoils of war, Roman citizens were treated the same as soldiers from allied states.
Under the old system, allied citizens didn't envy Roman citizenship.
Why would anyone willingly give up their free status to become a Roman citizen, just to suffer and toil for the Roman elite?
But things are different now.
Rome, as a dominant power, no longer requires its soldiers to provide their own rations and equipment under the new legal reforms.
All the spoils of war now belong solely to Rome.
New Roman citizens also don't have to pay taxes, and there is plenty of land to distribute.
The wealth is abundant.
Moreover, becoming a Roman citizen now brings higher social status and more opportunities for wealth.
Becoming a Roman is now the fast track to becoming part of the elite.
Who wouldn't want a piece of this enticing pie?
This is exactly why Roman citizens opposed it—they felt their exclusive privileges and benefits were being shared with too many others.
The more people who shared, the fewer benefits remained.
With so many allied "huskies" coming in to snatch their benefits, how could anyone be happy?
Thirdly, and predictably, the Senate was also deeply opposed.
Both publicly and privately, they couldn't stand by and let such a law be passed.
If it actually succeeded, the issue of land reform aside, there would undoubtedly be national security problems!
The tensions with the allied states could erupt into crisis at any moment because of this decree.
So, from commoners to nobles and from domestic to foreign interests, no one supported this final proposal.
Even though it might have significantly advanced the Agrarian Law, its drawbacks were too obvious.
When Gaius Gracchus first floated this idea, Night immediately shut it down, forbidding him from mentioning it again.
Thanks to his warning, Gaius Gracchus soon realized just how much resistance this law would provoke.
If it were implemented, even the people, their greatest shield, would turn against them.
This realization caused the Gracchus brothers to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing they had been too reckless.
They quickly curbed the arrogance that had developed from the smooth progress of their reforms.
Returning to the podium, Tiberius presented the eight final laws.
By abandoning the ninth law, which was fraught with too many drawbacks, the remaining laws were already powerful enough to shake the very foundations of Rome.
All that was needed now was some military support.
These eight laws, spanning economics, military, politics, and even diplomacy (though diplomacy was crossed out), promised a complete overhaul of Rome—a total purge and transformation.
This explosive set of reforms, if enacted, would undoubtedly leave the Senate nobles terrified and furious, perhaps even driving them to madness.
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