Magistrates originated from the Roman Republic era. At first, they could only be held by civilians. They were mainly responsible for the maintenance of the temple and the management of the archives. Later, with the development of Rome, nobles could also become magistrates. At the same time, the powers and responsibilities of magistrates had changed.
From managing the archives and maintaining the temple, they were now responsible for the municipal administration of the entire city, the maintenance of public facilities, and even part of the public security work. During the Republic era, magistrates were not paid, and they often had to pay a lot of their own money. Caesar, for example, once went bankrupt as a magistrate, owing a lot of debt. His creditors even blocked his door and prevented him from leaving the city of Rome.
Of course, Caesar was not a fool. Of course, he would not do anything that did not benefit him.
Being a magistrate was one of the most effective ways to gain the favor of the citizens and gain political capital. For example, if you paid your own money to build a road for everyone, everyone would, of course, thank you. Caesar had accumulated a considerable amount of reputation during his tenure as a magistrate, and this reputation was built with real money. It was not difficult to understand why Caesar went bankrupt at that time.
In addition, being a magistrate was a prerequisite for being a financial officer and a magistrate. Although it was not necessary to become a financial officer or a magistrate, according to statistics, financial officers and magistrates were indeed the mainstream in politics.
Andrea had been a magistrate for three years, and this year, he was expected to be promoted to financial officer. At this most critical juncture, of course, he did not want any mistakes to happen.
So when he heard that the sewer pipe was damaged, he rushed to the scene immediately. The good news was that the damage was not serious, and he estimated that it could be repaired in two days. The bad news was that if he did not want this matter to become a stain on his record, he would have to pay for it himself.
Of course, he could afford it, but the problem was that he didn't know who destroyed the sewer pipe, and he didn't know if these people would come again after the sewer pipe was repaired. As the municipal official, he could mobilize some manpower, but the area he was in charge of was very large, almost half the city. It was impossible for him to arrange people to guard every section of the sewer pipe. Not only was it stupid to do so, but there were also many public facilities in the city besides the sewer pipe.
Andrea was most worried that someone was targeting him. If that was the case, the other party would have more targets to target. Passively defending himself would not work. Now, Andrea was facing the same problem as Zhang Heng. He needed to find out who the mastermind was before he could come up with a strategy to deal with the situation.
Andrea spent the entire afternoon making a list of people he might offend, and he found out that an Asian man who had recently become famous was at the top of the list. Zhang Heng had just visited Elder Divo Braille yesterday, and he went straight to Cobb's residence. Andrea had to accept the reality that his plan in the mine had been exposed.
And now, the way that a certain someone was dealing with him felt very familiar. It was exactly the same as the situation at the Binota Mine.
Divo Braille, that old fox, has taken the initiative to choose a side?
If Andrea had only suspected it before, he was 70% convinced after receiving Decius's "secret report." Decius said that Zhang Heng did not bring him along when he went to meet Divo Braille. Before he left, he told Andrea that it was better for a small fry like him not to get involved.
This was also the real reason why Andrea felt that he had been betrayed by Divo Braille. Based on the old fox's usual style, if he really colluded with Zhang Heng, he would definitely not want to make a big deal out of it. Everyone who had nothing to do with him would know about it. It would be more beneficial for him to exclude Decius from the picture.
And as if to confirm his speculation, Zhang Heng came to his domus in the afternoon.
He was no longer the gladiator who sacrificed his life in the arena to entertain people. Becoming Commodus's consultant meant that he had stepped into the upper echelons of the empire. Even if the two were enemies, Andrea had no choice but to welcome Zhang Heng into the house.
The mayor wanted to exchange a few pleasantries, but he did not expect Zhang Heng to say, "Shall we go to your study?"
Andrea subconsciously wanted to refuse, but at this moment, the incident with the sewer pipe flashed through his mind. In the end, he nodded.
So the two went to Andrea's study, and Andrea closed the door, leaving only the two of them in the room. After a while, the mayor spoke first, breaking the somewhat silent atmosphere. "I wonder why Consultant Zhang Heng is looking for me?"
"Oh, I heard that there was an accident in the sewer pipe not long ago. I was deeply shocked by it. I happened to pass by the area, and I wanted to visit you to see if I could do anything to help." Zhang Heng did not wait for Andrea's invitation. He immediately pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Consultant Zhang Heng, you are too polite." Something flashed in the mayor's eyes, and he said coldly, "My people have taken control of the situation. I believe it will be repaired soon. There is nothing else I need your help with."
"That's good. I haven't been in Rome for long. More than two months ago, I was just a gladiator. So, I'm still learning a lot … So, if I say something wrong, I hope you can forgive me." Zhang Heng paused and continued, "A friend told me that it is not that complicated to gain a foothold in Rome's politics. You just need to do one thing well, and that is to make friends. Today, your friend is in trouble, and you help him. Tomorrow, when you are in trouble, your friend will naturally help you solve it. Everyone is for me, and I am for everyone. "
"What are you trying to say?" The mayor frowned.
"I am trying to make friends as he said," Zhang Heng spread his hands, "You should also know that I am now in charge of the bronze statue casting. However, there is a little trouble in the process. The Binota Mine collapsed, and our ore supply has been cut off. It has been a while since we stopped working. I want to resume work as soon as possible."
As Zhang Heng spoke, he looked into Andrea's eyes.
The mayor sneered, "What does this have to do with me? Besides, don't you already have a friend? Can't you just ask Divo Braille to pass the message to you?"
"I didn't say that you have anything to do with this matter. As for Divo Braille, I don't know him well. I went to him yesterday, but he refused to help me." Zhang Heng shook his head. "So, I can only come to you to try my luck."
Andrea almost cursed out loud when he heard what Zhang Heng said. Even at this juncture, Zhang Heng still refused to admit his relationship with Divo Braille. Without Divo Braille's help, how could Zhang Heng touch his domus the next day?
If Andrea was only 70% suspicious of Divo Braille's involvement before this, he was now 100% certain that Divo Braille was involved in this. That was because Divo Braille didn't dare to admit what he had done and didn't want to offend anyone.
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