Chapter 236 I am Augustus Julius (6k)

The man did not let Morn take off his collar, but took Morn through every part of Capua.

The first place they went to was the rich area. Because the man following Moon was obviously a very high-level slave, the guards didn't even check and let Moon and the man go in.

Looking at the white marble buildings on both sides, Moon asked the man behind him:
"I haven't asked your name yet."

"Names are of no importance to slaves, Master."

"But I don't think you're a slave."

"But Rome considers me a slave."

Moon couldn't help but look at the man, and the man stopped immediately.

"Does Rome consider you a slave?"

After nodding and saying this, Moon led him forward:
"What do you want me to see?"

"Everything here, Master."

Moon turned around and looked in the direction of his finger.

What we saw was a large group of well-dressed people. It was obvious that they were all the upper class of Capua, and behind them were basically a few slaves following them.

There were strong male slaves who served as porters, and there were also female slaves who served as maids.

"There were no so-called maids or attendants in Rome. These jobs were given to more capable slaves."

"Among these slaves, a fairly complete promotion mechanism has been established. The inferior slaves who can only do odd jobs can be promoted to lower-level slaves who can do some delicate work and live in the house."

"There are also these mid-level slaves who can follow their masters and serve them. They can eat better and are closer to their masters."

"And if they go one step further, they will become upper-level slaves like me. They basically have very unique things, and their food, clothing, and transportation are even better than many good businessmen."

"However, it is impossible for us upper-level slaves to regain our freedom and become legal Roman citizens. Unless we are female slaves who are only prepared for sex."

"But I have rarely heard of a sex slave becoming a free citizen or even a noble lady."

"Or rather, I rarely hear of slaves becoming Roman citizens."

As Moon listened in silence, the man pointed at the people in brightly dressed clothes and said:
"The nobles regarded slaves as only part of their many possessions."

Moon's eyes shifted away from the man because he heard other noises.

On the street to his left, a large number of slaves were silently lined up under the supervision of guards.

On the second floor above them was a slave owner holding a wine glass.

As he called out each name, a slave stepped forward in response.

By the time he finished calling the roll, one third of the slaves had been picked out by him.

Moon couldn't see any emotion on the faces of these slaves, because they all looked dead in despair.

Then, several daggers were thrown in front of the slaves by the guards.

The slave owner looked with satisfaction at the people who were attracted because of him.

Immediately, he threw the wine glass in his hand out of the window.

When the sound of the valuable Farolan glass breaking was heard, the slaves rushed towards the dagger on the ground.

There was no need to announce the rules, because this had obviously been going on for a long time, as could be seen from the blood-soaked ground.

Then, the slaves who grabbed the daggers rushed to stab their companions beside them.

The slaves who failed to grab the daggers had no intention of waiting to die. They began to fight back by biting, ramming, and punching.

But after all, they were a group of slaves who didn't know how to fight, so soon, only the few who grabbed the daggers at the beginning were left out of the dozen or so slaves.

Looking at the few sword-wielding slaves who finally revealed a little fear in their numbness.

The crowd and the slave owners upstairs all applauded in admiration.

They were treated to another wonderful drama, but as for the death of the slaves?

What loss is that? These slaves are not even worth that broken cup!

The man's voice sounded again:
“Wealth that can be spent and squandered at will.”

"Okay, Master, please come with me to the next place."

The man was a little worried that his new master would do something, but fortunately, he just stopped and watched for a while before following him out of the wealthy area.

Along with them left, there were corpse carts dripping with blood and even flesh, loaded with recently dead slaves.

The only reaction of passers-by around was to cover their noses.

Because the blood mixed with the slaves' body odor was really bad.

As for other reactions, there are none.

No one cared about the lives of slaves in Rome.

The next place the man took Moon to was the civilian area.

Compared to the rich areas, the number of slaves here has increased instead of decreased!

According to Moon's rough estimate, only about one in three people was a free man without a collar.

"Do you think the number of slaves is too large? But this is normal. Slaves are the most indispensable cornerstone of the huge Roman Empire."

"They are not only assets for trading, they are also versatile resources that can be used in various ways."

"Women washing clothes, coolies carrying heavy loads, farmers harvesting rice, etc., are all slave jobs."

"And slaves are not just useful for this. Think about it, Master. Do you want someone who is willing to work hard and know the importance of things to take care of your newborn child day and night?"

"Do you want a flesh machine that will do anything for you as long as you give it some food?"

"Do you wish you could be like those upper-class people, with someone to serve you when you are tired or thirsty?"

"Then you must need a slave, a cheap and useful slave!"

The man standing next to Moon said quietly:

"The Roman commoners also needed slaves, because they were their hands and feet."

The noise rang in Moen's ears again.

As Moon's eyes swept over.

A very young slave, or rather a child who had not yet grown immature.

The tall and strong man twisted his head like a chicken and threw him out of the house.

As Gulu kept rolling and the crowds of people avoided him, it rolled all the way to the center of the street.

But the sturdy man obviously didn't intend to stop. He walked forward quickly, cursing.

He grabbed the child's hair.

It was not until then that people saw that the young slave's forehead was covered in blood.

It was obvious that he had been beaten badly before being thrown out.

"How dare you fall asleep while working? A whole jar of flour is ruined!"

"That's one or even two days' supply in my store!"

"I can't believe I let you live in a house with thick walls to keep out the wind and rain!"

In the sturdy man's rage, he smashed his face with a fist that was almost half the size of the slave's face.

Unlike the slaves he had seen before, the boy did not endure everything in silence. He wanted to speak:

"No, Master, I was just helping you clean the stove last night."

But the man became more and more angry.

"Shut up. No matter what, that's not a reason for you to fall asleep! Do you know how many of you that jar of flour can buy?"

How could the master be wrong?
How could the slaves be right?
The boy was beaten black and blue and his speech was slurred.

Until he was dying and his head tilted in the strong man's hands.

The strong man was so unlucky that he threw it on the ground.

Wiping the blood off his hands in disgust, he tore off his apron to bandage his bleeding fist while shouting to the people around him:

"Who wants this unlucky thing? Not much, two coins, no, just one copper coin will do!"

Some people were excited and stepped forward, first prying open the child's teeth to check his specific age.

Then he reached directly into his pants to see if he had been castrated.

But soon, the person who came forward looked at the dying boy and shook his head and said:
"Even though he's castrated, I can't possibly spend money on his medical treatment. Forget it, it's a waste of money."

The strong man also showed a sad face. He was not regretting that he was about to kill the slave, but was worried about how to deal with the corpse.

It's not a big deal, but it's a bit troublesome.

"Really no one wants it? Copper coins, I'm willing to give it to you for five copper coins. I don't have time to deal with this pile of rotten meat."

"Maybe after we drag him back, he can survive on his own!"

Under the temptation of making free money, someone finally stood up and ordered his slaves to take it back.

The boy was taken away by two slaves. One of them wanted to carry him back, but the other refused. He pushed the other away and dragged him back on the ground.

The man's voice sounded again:
"Even the slaves themselves felt that their lives were worthless, but they were integrated into every aspect of Rome. This is slavery."

"Master, if you want, I will take you to the next place."

Moon nodded and followed the other party to the next place.

This time we went to the slums.

And on the way here, Moon even happened to see the corpse transport truck he had seen in the wealthy area before.

But there were more corpses piled on top than before.

It was so high that Moen almost felt it blocked out the light.

And it’s also more fragmented.

People here basically don't have collars.

Morn didn't know whether they had removed their collars themselves or whether they were free men.

But Moon knew that the people here probably lived worse than slaves.

Seeing the flesh and blood spilled on the corpse transport vehicle, many people kept rushing forward to grab it.

Even though everyone knew it was human flesh.

"Just know that it is meat, Master. It doesn't matter what kind of meat it is."

“People here are basically going crazy with hunger.”

The man's voice continued to ring out, not far in front of the two men.

The corpse truck suddenly stopped.

Then, a large number of corpses fell to the ground at random.

In theory, the body needs to be transported to the Church of the Dead for remembrance and burial.

But here, apparently, a bunch of slave bodies just had to be delivered.

Then the starving guys would help them deal with everything.

As for whether the other party will cause any trouble because of this.

That's impossible, there is a carefully built high wall that strictly blocks everything.

Moreover, over thousands of years, a tacit understanding has been formed between the outside world and here.

No matter how crazy the people inside are, they still remember what they can and cannot do.

Otherwise, it’s not just about starving to death, but really dying!
Therefore, in such an environment, the corpse transport vehicle can enter freely, and Moon and the other person who entered directly have not encountered any attacks so far.

Because the former represented an important source of food, and the latter allowed them to know that the other person was a noble just from their clothes.

The sound of flesh being torn apart and even chewed made Moon feel a little depressed.

After taking a deep breath, Moon wanted to leave.

But as soon as he turned around, he heard a baby cry that surprised and delighted him. It was undoubtedly the celebration of a newborn baby coming into the world.

It is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world.

This voice made Moen stop, and the man sighed and said:

"Master, I hope you don't want to watch what happens next."

Mo En raised his eyebrows and said:
"They want to eat newborn babies?"

Moon subconsciously placed his hands on his rings, not the revolver on his waist, but two hair rings from the goddess.

"I'm afraid it's not as good as this."

Moon turned around in shock, and at the same time, in the room, the sound of a baby crying was heard.

A woman who looked extremely weak, holding a child in her arms, rushed out of the house with bloodshot eyes.

And in front of her, there were many people who wanted to stop her and take the child away.

But she dodged them all. If it weren't for her skirt that was still dripping with blood, it would be hard to believe that she was a pregnant woman who had just given birth.

Under the gaze of Moon and the man, the woman ran directly to a checkpoint not far ahead with the child in her arms.

That was also the direction the corpse transport vehicle came from.

Seeing the woman coming over with the child, several guards immediately stepped forward to disperse the crowd that had gathered around them.

Soon, the child in the woman's arms was put on the weight.

Immediately, a woman's roar sounded:

"God damn bitch, you little devil, how can you only weigh four pounds, how can you only weigh four pounds!"

It is an unimaginable miracle for a malnourished pregnant woman to give birth to a living child.

But the woman continued to curse.

Curse this child who weighs only four pounds.

Cursing the child for only bringing her four bags of food.

The soldiers drove her away in annoyance and threw her four bags of food.

The woman wanted to continue cursing, but after looking at the starving people around her and the guards who were just there to ensure the safety of the place.

She simply tore open two bags of food and threw them out.

While the crowd was scrambling for food, he quietly took the remaining food and left.

As for the newborn baby, the guards immediately sent him behind the wall.

There is no doubt that this is another new slave, a slave customized to allow merchants to freely decide the future direction.

Morn dropped his hand from the ring.

The man's voice sounded again:
"Normally, it is not cost-effective to train a slave from a child, but because there has been no war in the past decade or so, this unprofitable deal has become cost-effective."

"Because it's really hard for slaves trained in this way to have problems. Although the training period is long, they can be sold at a high price to offset the cost!"

"And look over there."

Looking in the direction of the man's finger, Moon saw another checkpoint.

There was a long queue that stretched as far as the eye could see.

But most of the people there are young and middle-aged people of all kinds.

At least in terms of age.

"There are at least several hundred such checkpoints in the slum, and this slum has a population of over a million."

"Hundreds and thousands of slaves are provided to Capua every day."

"These were one of the main sources of Roman slaves."

Mo En raised his eyebrows and said:
“But it’s still not enough.”

"There's not enough here for the consumption you just saw."

"But there are more out there!"

The man explained calmly.

"So you should understand it, too."

"Slaves were already the foundation of this country."

"The nobles needed slaves as wealth to squander and enjoy, the common people needed slaves as their hands and feet to produce, and even the poor needed slaves as their only good way out."

"This line was closed several epochs ago."

"The poor become slaves, the common people use slaves, and the nobles make slaves."

Seeing that Moen was still silent, the man said seriously:

"I don't know who you are, but from your question, I know you are an outsider who wants to change the status quo."

"I guess you should be a great noble of a great country, or even a demigod or a noble angel!"

"But, Master, slavery has been rooted in Rome for countless ages."

"If you want to change this, not only the nobles will oppose it, but also the poor and common people will oppose it."

"This is a stubborn disease, a stubborn disease that I don't see any hope of curing."

As he spoke, the man shook his head again:

"No, I'm wrong. This is not a disease, this is a foundation. It's dirty, bloody, but undoubtedly a solid and reliable foundation."

Moon finally responded to him:
"You said Rome. So, this is the current situation of the entire Old World?"

"Yes, Master, the whole continent is like this, even here we are already very elegant."

"In other parts of the Roman Empire, they didn't trade food for newborns."

"They treat humans like crops and plant them in factories!"

The man, who had been extremely calm all the way, couldn't help but frown when he talked about this.

"I have personally seen those factories. One factory building can hold 500 pregnant women. They are tied to beds and rely on various extraordinary means to ensure their survival and the safety of their babies."

"Then she would conceive, carry babies, and produce slaves, all year round without stopping."

"Even in Pompeii Rome, the process of slaves' growth was directly omitted."

"They use some kind of ritual to get their babies out of the cage within a few months."

The man who recalled this scene said again:
"I once tried to get a pregnant woman like that off that horrible bed."

"But I couldn't, because her back had grown into the sheets. Flesh and fabric had become a profane symbiosis."

"Moreover, she no longer has the ability to think. Her soul is still there, but it is an empty shell."

"There are people like her in almost every factory."

The man's story became calmer, and Moon's brow furrowed further.

"Master, do you know?"

"In fact, according to their productivity, the number of slaves they produced has long exceeded the market demand by several times or even dozens of times."

"But they are still producing non-stop and expanding their scale, while the scale of slaves has not changed much."

Moen understood what the other party meant almost instantly:
"Extraordinary breeding?"

Such crazy things have happened in the Age of Mad Gods and in the following eras.

But those guys don't just keep humans in captivity, they directly keep everything that is worth keeping in captivity, from living things to dead things and even concepts, all of them are kept in captivity to be used in their extraordinary promotion.

This is also the target that all major orthodox churches and every save file of Moon are trying to combat.

Because this is really against human nature.

Of course, it can also be said that this is too in line with human nature.

“It’s not as crazy as it was in history, but it’s true that a lot of slaves were used for this.”

"So, do you understand now, Master?"

"This isn't even limited to this old world without the blessing of the gods."

Looking at the man who kept dissuading her.

Moon asked the other party seriously:
"They say you were once an archon. Why are you a slave?"

The man looked down at the toga on his body that only the upper class could wear.

Then he laughed at himself:

"Because I once thought that laws and hard work could change all this."

Without waiting for Moon to continue asking.

The man said:

"I just told you that there hasn't been a war in the last ten years or so. Do you remember?"

"remember."

"Thirteen years ago, there was a rebellion dedicated to destroying slavery."

"It almost swept across the entire Old World, and made all the rebels feel that the terrible cloud that had enveloped Rome for countless generations was about to disappear."

"More and more fighters are taking up arms and joining the resistance."

"Even many bigwigs with good intentions have joined in, either overtly or covertly."

"I still remember that a great nameless angel appeared in front of us, showing us the way forward and helping us defeat the powerful enemy."

The man's voice took on a long-lost high pitch.

It was as if he had returned to the era that made his blood boil.

"I, we, everyone involved at the time felt that we had won and that we would write a legend for this series."

"Because we have the support of almost all the slaves on the entire continent, we have found countless powerful allies, and even the person who leads us is revered as the reincarnation of Augustus!"

"But."

The man's blood instantly cooled. He lowered his head and looked at Moen and said:

"But, Master, you can see that I am here now. I am your slave now."

"Our allies chose silence at the last moment, our companions fell and betrayed one after another, and our leader, the great, true, and only Augustus, also fell before us."

After saying the last sentence tremblingly, the man said to Moon seriously:

"Master, pretend that nothing happened, pretend that you didn't see anything, and go back to the wealthy area where you should go or to the upper city area that is specially prepared for people like you."

"In the warmth of beauty and the sweetness of wine, forget all this and return to your hometown!"

Looking at the man who was advising her seriously.

Moon picked up the ticket, which was the ticket to the New World.

A moment later, the ticket was handed to the man by Moon.

"Take off your collar and get out of here, my friend."

The man smiled bitterly:
"Master, it's you who should leave!"

Moen also laughed:

"No, I'm back!"

The man asked curiously:

"who are you?"

Moon put down the ticket and reached out to untie the man's collar.

As the collar fell to the ground, the man heard Moon's answer:
"Augustus Julius."

　You can take a look at the book "Scientific Cultivation of Immortality, Starting from Crossing Two Worlds" by the same author.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)