Augustus Road

"Our emperor strings his harp tightly, while the Parthian emperor strings his bow tightly." - People wrote limericks to satirize Nero

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First of all, by invoking Spanish local heroes and prominent figures to enter the Senate, Lepidus actually took them to Rome to serve as hostages, thereby eliminating the independent status of free cities and tribes. Secondly, through poll taxes and yoke taxes, The expropriation of taxes has isolated the existence of "foreign people" and eradicated the middle class that circulates between the state and the people. Then he will expand the bureaucracy of the Executive Yuan from top to bottom. From then on, the Executive Yuan will become the core of administrative power in the country, instead of the Senate. Lepidus initially decided to retain the tradition of joint governance of the two consuls. Among them, the chief consul concurrently serves as the chief executive of the Executive Yuan, as well as the high priest and life-long tribune; while the second consul is responsible for convening senate meetings, and the duties of construction and construction, as well as the duties of the highest municipal official of the city of Rome; in addition, the administrative The departments of the Academy will be further subdivided into the Academy Department, the Assessment Department, the Military Department, the Civil Engineering Department, the Equipment Department, the Administration Department, the Supervision Department, etc. This institution will become the foundation for the elite of the high priest to rule the country.

Earthshaking, this description is not an exaggeration.

But Lepidus did not stop. He soon conducted a grand review of the fifteen legions under his command on the outskirts of Corduba. The high priest himself stood on the high earth platform built, holding a sharp sword. The nearly 80,000 soldiers below were in order and marched across the reviewing stand chanting "For the Glory of the High Priest."

then. Lepidus personally awarded the centurions, regiments and brigades with many honors with a new flag: the brigades famous for their field battles. A golden hare logo is added to its team logo; it is famous for attacking difficulties. The team that is known for its defense has a turtle shell logo; the team that is known for its terrifying shooting has a Pegasus logo on its team logo; the cavalry wing team that is known for galloping into battle has its team logo. The flag bearer holds the flying fish-dragon flag used by the Sarmatians and Dacians; the loyal service regiment and centurion have their tongue-of-flame flags inlaid with gold rims and golden wheat tassels, and the rewards are even more If there is any difference, all the soldiers swore an oath, "You must cherish the honor of your team. Hold the flag in your hands forever, regard it as the same guardian object as the legion's eagle flag, and never let the enemy take it away."

"From now on, your salary, retirement pension and land resettlement will be drawn from the state's taxes and the funds you personally contribute. Therefore, random killing and robbery in the future will not be allowed, because remember that the flag is Your honor cannot be tarnished by evil deeds. This kind of military virtue is comparable to bravery on the battlefield. "This is the new concept of the high priest's army.

"After the war ends, strive to reduce the main army to twelve, including four veteran legions and eight new legions, stationed at key points on the country's military frontiers; in conjunction with thirty locally recruited auxiliary legions, these auxiliary legions will The army was mainly recruited from the administrative regions. They had to use bows, arrows, spears and war horses, guard in small fortifications on the border, listen to the commands of envoys and governors, and cooperate with the main army in combat. Otherwise, this work must be done. The country's finances simply cannot afford such a large number of legions, so we have to prepare for the disbandment of 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers." After the review, Li Bida put down the thick paper a little tiredly, sat on an armchair, and said. Looking at the staff around him, he said, "Everyone, a new voyage has just begun. The waves and storms will not stop. Everyone must work hard, be loyal and diligent, and sail the ship of the country well."

"Go to the legion allocation list for the Greek theater immediately, Your Excellency." As he said that, a clerk continued to push the work to the high priest.

The helpless Lepidus could only force himself to continue observing. Yulia beside him waved his hand, signaling to the other waiting people to step aside for the time being and stop disturbing him with official duties. The high priest needed to rest.

"Leave four legions to carry out the work of pacification. The remaining legions will follow me to Sardinia first, and then we will make preparations for the expedition." Lepidus used a hook pen to mark the numbers of the legions left to guard. Then he yawned and gave the order to the document.

About a market day later, the autumn sunshine began to shine on the high mountains and rivers of Iberia. To the south of the city of Cordoba, in a quiet farm under the majestic and beautiful snow-capped peaks of Nevada, The high priest's guard came quietly, the bells on the porch rang, and several servants hurriedly came out to kneel down to greet them. The little pigeon Paluma and his wife, Valentina who had just come from the city of Orleans, walked out and half-knelt on Yulia's shoulders. Under the influence, he took his adoptive mother's hand and introduced her and Li Bida into the house.

"The scenery in this place is good, and it is worth the price of the 100,000 dinars of silver coins that Yulia and I gave as a gift." Lepida sat under the flower gallery and said to his adopted son, "Your father-in-law lives here for the rest of his life. It’s appropriate.”

"Yes, the main reason is that the adoptive father does not want to return to the city of Rome." At this time, Hebrida's wife and son also hurriedly came out to welcome the noble man, while the little pigeon couple explained.

"It seems that his mind is still clear?" The high priest said curiously. Several servants put Hebrida on the movable bed frame and carried him out. The high priest looked at the centurion who was always low-ranking in the sun. The other's head still had the steel wire frame left by the craniotomy, which jingled when it was shaken. "Who am I?" The high priest pointed at himself and asked Hebrida.

"You are a damned two-eared pottery jar." Hebrida murmured in reply.

The whole scene was dead silent at that time. The servants looked at each other with terrified expressions, because in their cognition, no one dared to speak to Lepidus like this.

Who would have thought that the high priest laughed and said that you are right, you are right.

"Which regiment are we in?" This was Lepidus's second question.

"Long live the three regiments, long live the Bacchus Legion!" Hebrida turned around and shouted loudly.

"Adiana, do you remember?"

"That little bitch from Pontus, of course I remember, I had long advised you to fuck her."

Then, Lepidus stood up and said to Hebrida's wife and Valentina, who were wiping their tears, "It seems that he can only remember things from twenty years ago."

Valentina nodded, and she gestured to a servant next to her, and the servant took out a bugle and blew it "Toot Toot Toot" - Hebrida immediately stood up from the bed frame and shouted, "The three regiments are armed and attacking the enemy. There is no need to wait for the order of that bastard Uterus. Take down the camp and all the spoils will be mine!" After that, he leaned back straight and fell on the bed frame again, his eyes fixed.

Li Bi Da sighed, then waved his hand. Ten slender dancers came up from behind him. "Anyway, I owe him for the Battle of Tumur River. I will give him these ten slave girls that I bought at a high price. This way, his later years will not be lonely." (To be continued...)