Claudius was originally a top noble in Rome. When he ignored traditional rules and acted as a ruffian leader, using violence to disrupt the political arena, the Senate found him unmanageable.

Only Pompey, who harbored enmity against Claudius, supported the newly appointed People's Guardian in forming his own gang of thugs, combating Claudius' men through violent means.

The two factions frequently engaged in large-scale brawls within Rome, causing considerable casualties and throwing the entire city into chaos, even threatening the safety of the Senate and nobles.

Thus, the Senate passed a bill to recall Cicero to Rome, during which Pompey was notably proactive.

As a return, Cicero proposed to the Senate to grant Pompey special command to better solve Italy's grain import issues.

Many conservative senators expressed support.

Thus, Pompey, who had been idle for several years, once again wielded power.

However, not long after, Claudius was also elected as a Municipal Officer, and he quickly accused the former People's Guardian Milo (who had formed a gang to counter Claudius' men with Pompey's support) of political violence. Pompey and Cicero defended him, clashing fiercely at rallies and even resorting to mutual threats and intimidation.

The deepening hatred between Pompey and Claudius also increasingly affected his relationship with Crassus because, despite Crassus maintaining a low profile in politics over the years, many knew he was secretly supporting Claudius.

Pompey thus felt that Crassus was deliberately targeting him, compounded by the goodwill shown by conservative senators led by Cicero, making him reconsider the worth of continuing the Triumvirate.

Cicero and others keenly noticed this change, prompting a proposal in the Senate: since Caesar had successfully conquered Gaul, there was no need for him to remain there for the full five years; he could be recalled early.

Another senator, Domitius, who was hopeful to become Governor the next year (his ancestors having once conquered Outer Gaul riding on elephants, with his family having significant ties with Gaul), publicly stated his hope to replace Caesar as Governor of Gaul after his term.

Pompey didn't entirely oppose this proposal, while Crassus remained silent.

The Triumvirate was on the verge of collapse.

In the north, Caesar, closely monitoring Rome's political situation, immediately took action after noticing the developments, inviting Pompey and Crassus for discussions in Lucca City, within his province. Through his exceptional negotiation and strategic skills, the three reached a new agreement.

In this new agreement: Pompey and Crassus once again joined forces to run for Governor the following year (55 BC), to prevent the election of Caesar's arch-enemy, Domitius. After their terms as Governors, Pompey would serve as the Governor of Spain for five years, Crassus as the Governor of Syria for five years, and Caesar would renew his term as Governor of Gaul for another five years.

It's safe to say that this agreement satisfied all three, especially Crassus.

Originally, Pompey's conquest of the East yielded massive wealth surpassing that of Crassus, and later, Caesar's military achievements in Gaul overshadowed him, making him the least notable in the Triumvirate, causing some internal imbalance.

Now, the agreement granted him military command and formal governance rights for the coming years, ambitiously setting his sights on the Parthia to the east of Syria. Conquering this ancient eastern empire would overshadow Caesar's achievements, earning him vast wealth from these prosperous lands.

The Triumvirate was once again stabilized.

The news caused a stir in the Senate, but Cicero quickly accepted the reality, possibly learning from his prior exile, choosing to compromise in the face of the powerful triumvir's force.

Thus, he delivered a speech in the Senate, opposing Caesar's political rivals' proposal (to relieve Caesar of his position as Governor of Gaul), while also praising his victories in Gaul.

With the joint support of him, Pompey, and Crassus, Caesar's command in Gaul was confirmed, and the treasury agreed to pay for the additional legions recruited by Caesar himself.

However, regarding the election for the next year's Governor, the conservatives were unwilling to compromise, and even Pompey and Crassus's eligibility to run was fraught with difficulties.

Before the election day, Caesar specifically had a large number of his men return to Rome to vote, including Crassus's son, Publius.

On the election day, fierce violence broke out, resulting in the injury of one candidate, Amityus, and the death of one of his attendants, with Pompey and Crassus emerging as victors.

Following this, the forces of the Triumvirate also intimidated Little Cato, preventing him from being elected as the Legal Officer.

Meanwhile, during the Municipal Officer elections, there was such intense brawling that even Pompey was splattered with someone else's blood, and when he returned home, his pregnant wife, You Niya, was so shocked at the sight of the blood that she miscarried.

............

In the first half of this year, most of the tribes in Gaul submitted to Caesar and sent hostages to him, and the entire Gaul region seemed to have returned to peace.

Caesar had already begun to turn his attention eastward, considering the possibility of advancing into Nix and Dacia, but subsequent changes in Rome's political arena compelled him to urgently invite Pompey and Crassus to Lucca for talks.

After the new agreement was reached, the Gaul region encountered new troubles.

The Vineti and other coastal tribes detained Roman officers sent to procure military grain from these tribes, demanding the return of their hostages in exchange for the release of these officers.

Caesar, of course, disagreed, thus sparking a new conflict.

Ultimately, after defeating the Vineti people, Caesar exacted severe punishment on them, not only massacring their entire council but also selling the captured and surrendered tribesmen into slavery—he intended to warn other Gaul tribes against betrayal through such brutal measures.

During the war, Caesar discovered that the Gaul coastal tribes opposed to him had previously received military support from the Brittanian tribes, prompting him to resolve to launch a maritime expedition to Brittania.

Launching a cross-sea attack on a completely unfamiliar area was undoubtedly difficult, and the first attack did not achieve significant results, but it allowed Caesar to gather more intelligence on Brittania.

Soon, he planned a second expedition, this time with more thorough preparations.

Yet while he was winning more glory and amassing more wealth in Brittania, in August of 50 BC, Caesar's only child, Pompey's wife, You Niya, died due to childbirth complications, and his mother, Aurelia, also passed away that year.

Within a year, Caesar lost two of his closest family members.

Although he was deeply saddened, a pressing issue required his swift resolution—the death of Julia had dissolved the closest bond between Pompey and Caesar.

He proposed that Pompey marry his grand-niece, Octavia, while he would marry Pompey's daughter, Pompeia, which would require Caesar, Octavia, and Pompeia to all divorce their current spouses.

Pompey refused the proposal, not contemplating remarriage for a time, likely as a tribute to his late wife, Julia. Although their initial union was politically motivated, the older man and young wife were quite fond of each other, often criticized for enjoying time together in the estate rather than attending to Republican affairs, and he never strayed during the marriage.

In fact, since stepping down as Governor that year, Pompey was expected to go to Spain to assume the position of Governor, but at fifty-one, he had no intention of returning to the battlefield, instead staying at an estate outside Rome to care for his pregnant wife, Julia, delegating a Legion Commander to manage the Spain Province and command the Roman Army there.

Pompey's action was unprecedented, no Roman Governor had done such a thing before, but as someone who always liked to break Roman traditions, the Senate didn't censure him for it.

Meanwhile, nearing sixty, Crassus was eager to assume the post of Governor of Syria. His ambition to conquer Parthia had been known even while serving as Governor, which led to public protests by some senators who believed he would drag Rome into a meaningless and unjust war.

As soon as his governorship ended, Crassus hurriedly set off for the East with a massive entourage.

In his youth, he had bravely fought for Sula but felt unrecognized; during Spartacus's rebellion, he turned the tide, but after the war, the public forgot the danger and viewed it merely as the suppression of a slave revolt; so this time, he intended to fully display his military talents in the conquest of Parthia, to make the Roman populace cheer for his great achievements.

From this year onwards, the Triumvirate's members were no longer in Rome (Pompey, as Provincial Governor, was not allowed to enter Rome, so he stayed in the suburbs outside the city), while the new Governors were Caesar's enemy Domitius, and Appius, Claudius's uncontrollable brother, with Cato becoming the Legal Officer.

However, the Triumvirate's proxies were highly active within Rome, allowing them to still control the political arena, with conservative senators finding it difficult to take any action detrimental to the Triumvirate.

Even Appius had to travel north to Ravenna to visit Caesar to secure a People's Guardian position for one of his guests.

Although Caesar continuously watched over Rome's political sphere, during this year most of his energy was dedicated to battles, leaving little time for leisure.

After returning from Brittania, he didn't even have time to hold funeral rites, hurriedly summoning a meeting with the tribal leaders of Gaul.

The reason was that the agricultural harvest in Gaul that year was poor; the tribal leaders explained it was due to an exceptionally dry summer. However, in reality, Caesar's campaigns over the years had extensively disrupted the agricultural activities of the Gaul tribes. Moreover, during his expedition to Brittania, he had levied labor and collected supplies from the Gauls to meet the logistical needs of the army, undoubtedly increasing the burden on the Gaul tribes.

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