Saviour of Rome [Gaius Valerius Verrens 7] by Douglas Jackson Page A

missing gold of Hispania Tarraconensis would be the man who saved the Empire. Even able-bodied I’m not certain I would have lived up to his expectations. There is so much to do here. The answer lies in the north, and with this leg I doubt I would survive the journey. That is why I asked him to send you. He has outlined the general situation?’
    ‘Since the late war the yields from the northern mines have dropped dramatically.’ Valerius repeated what Vespasian had told him. ‘Bandits are blamed, perhaps the richest seams have been worked out, and there are said to be manpower problems. What I don’t understand is why you haven’t sent a mining expert to investigate?’
    ‘But we have,’ Pliny cried. ‘An experienced engineer, Marcus Florus Petronius. Does the name mean anything to you?’
    ‘Should it?’
    ‘He said he served with you in Armenia. You traversed some mountain track together. The longest night of his life, he told me.’
    Now a face swam into view. Petronius had been the man who’d guided the night march to outflank Vologases, the Parthian King of Kings, before his defeat by Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo.
    ‘A good choice,’ he complimented Pliny. ‘I remember Petronius as clever, enterprising and courageous.’
    ‘And with substantial experience of the mining industry.’ Pliny’s face turned grim. ‘His latest report hinted at a great revelation. What was happening at Asturica Augusta was of even greater significance than we originally believed. But he would not make direct accusations until he had proof. Since then, nothing.’
    ‘Is it possible his reports are being intercepted?’
    ‘I doubt it. We had alternative procedures in place. It seems he has simply disappeared. I tell you this so you will not underestimate how dangerous this could be, Valerius. The goldfields are in barely accessible mountain areas and the mine workers were once Rome’s most implacable enemies. It took Augustus ten years and seven legions to conquer the Astures and the Cantabri.’
    ‘But that was ninety years ago,’ Valerius pointed out. ‘They’ve been living under Roman law ever since. Galba raised an entire legion from Hispania.’
    ‘Roman citizens,’ Pliny agreed. ‘The sons of families who prosper under Rome’s rule, but many – some would say most – have not. You must not underrate the level of resentment you will find in Asturica and I believe there may be ample reason for it. The mines are ownedby the state, but much of the workforce and supplies are provided by Asturian aristocrats. Little more than bandit chiefs with a head for business and an eye for a profit. Originally the men who worked the mines would have been slaves – captives from the Cantabrian Wars – but Augustus soon realized he needed a more stable workforce. He ordered hundreds of villages uprooted entire and moved to where they could provide a workforce for the mines.’ He paused in his narrative while a slave cleared away the last of the plates and poured another cup of wine from the jug. ‘Tens of thousands of people,’ he continued eventually, ‘torn from their ancestral farmlands and hunting grounds, deprived of a living and forced into the service of the state. The men from the communities around the mines provide their labour to offset the taxes imposed on them by Rome. And it is not just the mines. Many of the processes use substantial amounts of water, sometimes enormous amounts, to clean the ore or, in some cases, to flush it from the mines. This requires the diversion of hundreds of native streams, the building of miles of canals and aqueducts, and all in terrain that can scarcely be traversed by man. The miners who work for the leaseholders are poorly paid and according to Petronius the food is fit only for pigs. They work by the light of oil lamps in a perpetual cloud of smoke, never seeing daylight for sometimes months on end.’ Pliny’s face darkened at the image he was creating and Valerius realized he