Ten Denarii
"Rufus! I'm glad you could make it." You clap him on the back as you usher him into your tent. It's not quite right to call your reasons for talking with Rufus 'conspiracy', but the planned topic is more conniving than discussing a simple plan.
"Of course! Bandying words with you is always a pleasure, especially after how droll my comrades on the campaign trail turned out to be. The topic is certainly interesting, but one can only bear so much talk of swords and armor before they go mad." The two of you gave the joke a respectable chuckle before moving on to more important matters. "Still, your message read more urgent than mere discussion. What crisis has befallen you?"
"No crisis, but an opportunity." you explain. "Sertorius has seen fit to grant me command of a sizable portion of the legion, and he's assigned you to that very same portion."
"Well then I look forward to working with you. Perhaps we may even find time to discuss something not related to this war."
"I would enjoy that immensely." you say. "But alas, now is not such a time. I wish to discuss tactics, and more specifically, how you might aid me with them."
"I am afraid I am not your equal in that regard. I have gained some knowledge of battle, but my passion is still law whereas you have taken to war like a shark to the sea." Rufus shakes his head. "I fail to see what help I could be."
"I am nowhere near as skilled a commander as Sertorius, yet he has put me in command of half a legion."
Rufus sputters. "Half? You said a sizable portion, not half."
You would be lying if you said you didn't draw pleasure from his shocked expression, but you decide to continue your point rather than tease him with your success. "Half is a sizable portion. But as I was saying, he has given me this command because he faces a host of problems and cannot afford to deal with them one at a time."
Rufus nodded knowingly. "And the problem he has assigned you is in turn comprised of smaller problems you must, yet cannot deal with all at once?"
"If the gods have not seen fit to grant Sertorius the power to be in multiple places at once, I can assure you they have passed my me with that gift as well." you lament.
Rufus laughs good-naturedly. "So you wish to delegate to me. Very well then, what task am I to perform?"
"I could tell you, but I suspect you'd enjoy a little game first." you tease. "A hypothetical scenario. Solve it, and you'll have your role in all this."
"A word puzzle? By all means." As you being, you can tell you have Rufus' interest and undivided attention.
"Suppose you place ten denarii in your purse and go for a pleasant stroll through Rome to partake in some fresh air." you begin, setting the scene. "All of a sudden, you are beset by two men. One draws his dagger and demands ten denarii lest he sheathe it in your gut. The second man offers to sell his services to you. Protection from brigands and thieves in exchange for ten denarii. Who do you give your ten denarii to?"
Rufus places a hand on his chin, deep in thought as he mulls over the hypothetical situation. "Am I correct to assume I am incapable of defending myself in this scenario?" he asks.
"For the sake of argument, let us say you left your blade at home, and the man with the dagger is quite intimidating, but the potential bodyguard is stronger."
"Then I would pay the bodyguard." he answers. "It deals with the current assailant as well as any future thieves, leaving me free to enjoy my walk through Rome."
You raise a finger knowingly. "Ah, but at the end of the day, those two men return to the same hideout and split your denarii down the middle."
"A trick!" Rufus exclaims. "I suspect the same would have happened if I had paid off the man with the dagger?"
"But of course."
"So then there was no way to win, then?" asks Rufus.
"On the contrary, there were two ways to succeed." You withhold the answer, reveling in Rufus' confusion. Rather than admit defeat, Rufus furrows his brow and thinks.
"Two ways? I cannot fathom one…" he mumbles. You can see the moment realization dawns on him, and a smile splits yours in two. "Two ways. By being either a man with a dagger or a man driving off thieves."
"There's no way to lose."
"So which man am I in your plans? The man with the dagger, or the bodyguard?" asks Rufus.
"Well, I've already burned Aeclanum to the ground. A mighty fine dagger if I am to play the villain in our little tale, wouldn't you say?" A jovial smirk graces your face.
"A well made dagger indeed." agrees Rufus. "But isn't the point of the bodyguard to be more powerful than the man with the dagger in order to drive him off?"
"Why Rufus, you are a man backed by the full might of Rome! There is no one more powerful!" you jest before growing serious. "We will have to adjust our plan on the fly, but here it is in general. You offer to protect them if only they would swear allegiance to Rome, and I threaten to treat them as enemies of the legion
unless they swear allegiance to Rome."
"A fine plan, but I wouldn't have paid the bodyguard if I knew he and the man with the dagger were conspiring together." counters Rufus. "We are both citizens of Rome, the offers will come from the same place."
"A fair point, but the issue is solved before it arises. The Samnites will reject any offer from Rome on principle, it is their way. Any option is unsavory to them if it involves swearing themselves to Rome. The key is to give them an option. Do not let them think of rejecting it outright. Let them take the less unsavory deal, and they will leave the meeting table with high spirits, thinking they've won."
"All the while not realizing we've each taken five denarii the moment their backs are turned." Rufus said with a knowing smile to match your own.
"Exactly." you say. "So what do you think?"
"I think if everyone made tactics as enjoyable a topic to discuss as you, I'd have the motivation to become Rome's greatest general."
AN: Someone mentioned 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' and it stuck in my head. So here's this.
