Ancient Rome: From Slaveholder to Supreme Emperor - Chapter 2

Looking down at the coins in his hands, Ye Tian burst into laughter. “The system actually rewarded me with an extra 100 gold coins! I’m so lucky!”

The currencies of  theRoman Republic were:

Aureus: Gold coins that weighed about 8 grams; (ed. Around the same weight as a one euro coin)

Denarius:  Silver coins, 25 silver coins equalled 1 Gold coin;

Sestertius:  Copper coins, 100 copper coins equalled 1 Silver coin.

The Sestertius was the most commonly used currency, with one Sestertius being equivalent to 7 USD.

The 100 gold coins that the system rewarded Ye Tian with was worth 2,500 silver coins, or 250,000 copper coins, which was equivalent to $1,750,000 USD.

Ye Tian was still far away from being rich as his current wealth only made him part of the middle class.

In his early years, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and ransomed for about 50 Talentum of gold coins.

Talentum was the weight unit used in Rome. One Talentum was around 20 – 40 kilograms. Which meant that the 50 Talentum weighed about 1000 – 2000 kilograms. (ed. The ransom would have been about 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 gold coins equal to $2,187,500,000 – 4,375,000,000 USD. Damn I wish I could kidnap Caesar)

The 100 gold coins that Ye Tian had, eight grams each, it was less than one kilogram!

Therefore, Ye Tian had to continue to work hard.

“This year is 90 BC. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rules China. At this time, the Han Dynasty should be fighting with the Huns!” Ye Tian muttered softly, looking to the distant east.

All of a sudden, his eyes lit up with desire and ambition.

“The strongest slaveholder? One day, all of Europe will become my slaves. One day, I will become the Supreme Emperor!”

Ah, everything begins with being a slaveholder!

…

“Master, how does my palla look?” Angela asked, appearing before Ye Tian later that morning. Her current clothes were a lot more concealing compared to her old clothes that left her arms and legs bare.

“Wow, it’s gorgeous! You have great taste!” Ye Tian responded with a smile. “Have breakfast with me!”

While studying Angela’s incomparably graceful figure, Ye Tian felt his blood rushing to his little brother. The blood didn’t seem to stop pumping either, probably because of his improved physique.

“I’m just your slave, It’s not my place to eat with you, master…” Angela muttered softly.

She was a little hesitant to join him at first, but after hearing Ye Tian’s repeated requests, she was completely stunned. Despite her fears, she was touched and wanted to cry.

Slaves had the lowest social status in the Roman Republic. To most slaveholders, they were just tools that could speak.

The slaves did the dirtiest, most exhausting and difficult work every day, but were only fed the cheapest and least nutritious foods. Usually not even enough of it.

The life of a female slave was even more miserable; not only did they work like male slaves, but their masters also expected them to solve their ‘physical problems’.

However pleasing their master did not often lead to better treatment or a greater quality of life for the slave.

They were just tools to be used – coming and going at the whims of their master.

It was even worse if they were pregnant; if they were not killed outright, then their children were also enslaved, raised like pigs and dogs.

For the most beautiful slaves, life was far harsher. Not only did they have to be their master’s lover, but if he had a wife, then the slave would often be beaten out of spite.

It was no wonder Angela felt blessed by the gods. Her master was merciful and kind. She was willing to give him everything, including her very life.

Ye Tian smiled and whispered softly, “Okay, why don’t you feed me. Alright?”

“Yes, master…” Angela replied hesitantly. She nodded shyly and grateful for this opportunity.

As she was feeding Ye Tian, his hands slowly explored her body. Despite this, Angela was able to feed Ye Tian and also eat her fill.

“Come with me to the villa,” Ye Tian said impatiently, wiping the food from his mouth. “I want to see if those old guys dare to be lazy! ”

“Yes, master,” Angela replied while properly fixing her clothes.

Roman agriculture was quite developed. Their main crops included wheat, barley, olives, grapes and spices. They had even begun to use iron tools such as rakes, hoes, shovels and sickles, as well as others.

Ye Tian had planted some of these crops on his estate. There were other, more exotic crops that could be purchased from the system store. But, while he could buy them, he lacked the resources to protect them from thieves.

A Slave army!

Ye Tian planned to build the strongest slave army in this era, one that was completely loyal to him.

When that happens, the nobility, the three giants, and even the Senate would all be under his control, and he would be enthroned as the Supreme Emperor.

With the aid of the Strongest Slave System, Ye Tian was sure he could pull this off.

The System’s rules explained that once a slave’s loyalty reached 80%, it would not decrease.

Money and wealth! It made the world go round!

He needed lots of it to buy more slaves. To support his slave army, he needed money. To buy more land, he needed money.

Ye Tian came from the future, so he knew a lot of ways to make money. At this moment, he was still weak; even if he created a business empire, he lacked the power to protect it. For now he could only worry about maintaining his current position.