A Mysterious Ally

While Marcellus was returning home from negotiations with the Suebi warlord, the Italian heartland was seeing a new era of growth and prosperity. The emperor's innovations in the field of agriculture had seen large quantities of crops being planted, so much so that it was expected to have at the very least a twenty-five percent increase in crop yields when the harvest finally came around. 

Marcellus had not only introduced new agricultural technology, but new food staples such as pasta, which could be prepared in a wide variety of ways. The idea of the common people eating nothing but bread and wine was a thing of the past, as noodles became a common sight in street vendors and households across the province of Italia.