Didn't want to make this too complicated although that's probably destined to failure
Anyhoo
This is my "How the Roman Empire could have been saved" short :
Making everyone a citizen seems laudable but it also exempted those citizens from taxation
Really the simplest thing would be universal conscription for Citizens alongside the option for non citizens to become so through military service. In this case anyone who isn't a former slave, a debtor or a runaway serf is classed as a Citizen.
Anyhoo
This is my "How the Roman Empire could have been saved" short :
Making everyone a citizen seems laudable but it also exempted those citizens from taxation
Really the simplest thing would be universal conscription for Citizens alongside the option for non citizens to become so through military service. In this case anyone who isn't a former slave, a debtor or a runaway serf is classed as a Citizen.