Little Boots was making more effort to find treachery. Gaius' father was being accused of non-patriotic behaviour, and Gaius rather suspected there could be truth to the accusations. His father would consider Caesar's erratic behaviour would make the Republic increasingly attractive. He would overlook the avarice of the average Senator, and that the Republic only worked when the Senators were working for the benefit of Rome, rather than for themselves. Caesar's efforts to make people admire him led to money going through his hands like water, so being wealthy and being under suspicion for plotting was a very undesirable combination. His father was obviously under some pressure, for he sent details of tunnels he was excavating into a hill behind the family home. If everything went wrong, much of the family wealth would be buried there, protected by traps, for Gaius when he returned home.
Lucilla, in the meantime, was to be married to a Flavian named Quintus. Quintus Flavius Secundus was a sound man, his father said, interested in neither politics nor the military. He had, however, built up quite a considerable fortune through selling pork and trading in corn. He was a man of refinement, and most importantly, the Flavians seemed to be on reasonable terms with Little Boots.
The letters from Claudius were becoming more frequent, and, in their own way, quite strange. Claudius, so he said, envied Gaius. Or more to the point, he envied Gaius' being away from Rome. Rome was filled with intrigue, but even more importantly, with fear. There was reasonable evidence that the upper German legions had been on the verge of revolt, while it seemed that the Germans were crossing the Rhine and raiding villages under Roman protection at will. The German legions were in relatively poor shape, and their commander, Gnaeus Lentulus Gaetulicus, was lax.
So Caesar went north and decided to impose discipline. The methods were stern but standard: furloughs were restricted, there were route marches all over the place, there was wood cutting, road making, ditches were dug, there were mock battles, and there were practices of river crossings. As it happened the only river was the Rhine, and these crossings were variously interpreted as invasions, or exercises, but whatever they were, they did not last long in German territory.
Caesar also suspected that the leaders were planning revolt, and part of his visit was to root this out. It was never clear what role Marcus Aemilius Lepidus had, but he had been Drusilla's husband, and he may have thought he had some claim to a vacant Principate. He and Gaetulicus probably were plotting, but their plots were rather amateur, for Caesar arrived and their legions did nothing. In any event, the two were brought back to Rome and secretly executed.
The next exercise was either an exercise in complete stupidity, or, as he, Claudius, suspected, a means of humiliating the northern legions. Caesar announced to the most ill disciplined legion that they would march to the coast to invade Britain. With fewer troops than the great Julius had failed with, and decrepit boats, the legion refused to board. Gaius then taunted them, questioning whether they were Roman soldiers, or whether they would rather stroll along the beach collecting seashells. Such was the enthusiasm for the venture that soldiers began doing just that! Gaius apparently then called the whole venture off, apparently to the general mirth of the Britons. Caesar had deliberately taken the troops he could trust the least, and despatched them on this expedition to test their loyalty. When, as expected, they refused to embark he had them collect seashells. He, Caesar, could withstand the ridicule, but the legions could not.
There was also the question of the German invasion. Before going on the disciplinary exercise, Gaius Caesar had announced that the Empire could be expanded by conquering the Germans, an objective of the divine Augustus that was only dropped after the lamentable efforts of his General, Varus. So, Gaius Caesar would take up the challenge, or at least that is what he said. As such, when he arrived, direct revolt would have been difficult, and by the time the discipline was underway, Gaetulicus had lost control. That could be thought of as well-thought-out strategy, however Caesar did not want Rome to start thinking about plots, even failed plots. So, having left Rome to "sort out the Germans", Caesar realized that he had to take something back to Rome. Unfortunately, as usual his vanity got the better of him, and he decided to return in triumph. He announced victory over the Germans, he added Germanicus to his names, and he paraded a number of Germans before Rome to prove his conquests. Close examination showed these to be Gauls, disguised as Germans.
Some laughed at Gaius Caesar, but not for long as vicious taxes were imposed on those who laughed the loudest. His approach to taxation became more innovative, and he even went around the whorehouses, taxing the whores' clients. People paid up, as the alternative was to be a subject for Gaius' inventive nature.
The problem that Caesar failed to recognize, Claudius added, was the damage to Rome's reputation. Varus had shown the Roman legion to be vulnerable, but Little Boots had shown they had lost the will to fight anyone other than their Princeps, and there was not too much will there either. By totally ignoring the senate, Little Boots was now behaving effectively as a king, ruling alone and dispensing with other possible claimants. This was having a very bad effect on the senior Romans.
In Claudius' opinion, there would be trouble. Gaius stared at this letter in disbelief.
* * *
There was trouble, although not the sort envisaged by Claudius. Herod Agrippa had somehow managed to rekindle the anti-Jewish sentiments in Egypt, and the trouble spread like wildfire. Greek and Jew were fighting at Antioch, and Petronius was mobilizing his forces to put down such trouble. However, two of his officers were not to take part in this show of force. One Legatus had to be left behind, because he was too persistently drunk to act. Petronius himself would command. The second was Gaius Claudius, who, when getting ready to march towards Antioch, received a letter with the imperial seal.
Petronius watched with some concern as Gaius broke the seal. Gaius himself had heard enough of Little Boots' actions to be really concerned, but in the event breaking the seal led to one of the proudest moments of his life. The Legatus of Legio III, Cyrenaica, a legion temporarily stationed in Bostra, had become seriously ill. Gaius Claudius Scaevola was ordered by Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus to proceed to Bostra as temporary Legate. No mention here of the Senate of the People of Rome.
But it did not matter. While it might be temporary, he had a legion!
Petronius, surprised by Gaius' response, took the letter, looked at it, and nodded. "Congratulations," he said, as he gave Gaius an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "I won't say I'm pleased to see you go, because I rather fancy I could use every good man available at Antioch, but I'm really pleased for you. This is the sort of opportunity a Tribune needs."
"Thanks for letting me go," Gaius said.
"The signature doesn't give me much choice," Petronius laughed a brittle laugh, "but of course I wouldn't dream of standing in your way. Now, a piece of advice. Once you get there, remember you are now a Legatus. Act like one. You've always had a tendency to do things your way, which can be a bit irritating in a Tribune, but now it's necessary. Listen to others, but don't lean on them. Back yourself, and remember, as long as you don't do anything too stupid, I'll back you fully. You have nine cohorts of the finest army the world has seen, and if someone tries to push you around, feel free to use them."