I- A Spark of Ambition
Colonia Agrippina, January 14th, 139
Quintus Lollius Urbicus was an anxious man, not necessarily a bad trait for a Roman governor on the Rhine. The new Emperor Antoninus had been impressed with Urbicus's governorship of Germania, enough so that he'd been given quite the reward. In just a few months, he'd be setting out for Britannia, the island province that was tucked away in the furthest corner of rome. At a glance, the miserable weather and great distance from Rome could make the governorship look like a poorly disguised exile, but this was far from the case. The gold and silver mines insured steady income for its governor, while the control of three legions meant the officeholder required the Emperor's trust.
Even now there was much to be done. Urbicus had to prepare his old province for his replacement, and make arrangements for things to be established in Londinium. His office was a mess of dispatches, replies, and his own personal notes strewn about everywhere. The Roman's mind was already swimming with ideas for expanding the minds, perhaps importing slaves from Italy to shore up the villas. While he was deep in thought, a messenger arrived with a report from one of his men who'd been sent to Britannia ahead of him. Urbicus thank the messenger and excused him, before eagerly diving into the report. The bulk of it was endless figures on productivity, reviews of the legions and myriad other statistics, there was one snippet of information towards the end that caught his attention.
"Minor raids by the Britons from beyond the wall of Hadrianus, as well as small attacks by Hibernians on the Western coast last year, legions and auxilia sufficed to repel them" Urbicus was no stranger to border raids of course, it came with having a border province. But something about the report got Urbicius thinking. Taking a leap, he tossed about his office until he found a wax tablet and stylus, and began to take down a letter
To Imperator Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius.
In light of my new station, Caesar, I have a proposal. It's seems the Caledonians and other Celts North of our border have forgotten Agricola's example of what violating Rome's sanctity brings in retribution. With your permission, I'd like to remind them. What this will cost you is the services of no more than two legions for no more than two campaign seasons. In exchange I will grant you the expansion of one province and the creation of another, as well as the permanent reduction of the need to garrison Britannia. Whatever your decision, please inform me of it as soon as your duties permit- Q. L. Urbicus
Urbicus called in a slave to have the letter copied and sent out, and returned to his nightmare of administration, wondering just how big his province would be by next year...