Augustus Road

Brutus understood the soldiers' feelings very well, but he also had his own helpless side, that is, this hopeless battle must be fought!

After three consecutive fierce battles, the loss of no less than a thousand combat forces, Brutus's distress and frustration reached its peak. At the same time, he received news: Cassius personally brought a legion and landed near Corinth, wanting to discuss with him, either he stayed where he was, or asked Brutus to move closer to his area or Athens.

So the philosopher summoned his subordinates, including the senior centurion, together again. He looked grim at the meeting, first admitted the failure of the attack on Bugalotum, and added that "it is impossible for our army to occupy Epirus in the short term."

Then Brutus asked everyone to say what to do now.

The suggestion of Sybarus and Calatafemmius remained the same, that is, after returning to Athens to obtain supplies, they should cooperate with Cassius to go to the key islands in the Levant Sea and the Egyptian Sea as soon as possible, and prepare to sign an offensive and defensive alliance with the Parthian Empire, and suppress Syria as soon as possible before Lepidus takes action, and then advance to Egypt. As long as they subdue the several legions left by Caesar in these two places, they can rely on Egypt as a granary and have the capital to compete with Lepidus.

"Why can't we go around the Thessaly area, attack Agrippa's retreat, and induce him to come out for a decisive battle in the wild?" Brutus still did not give up.

However, this idea was firmly stopped by his subordinates. Sybarus believed that Thessaly was mostly barren mountainous areas with rugged roads, and the supplies would not be able to keep up, and it was located on its main roads. Cities such as Lissa and Salona in Illyria. With strong city defense forces. And they are loyal to Caesar and Lepidus. If we go there rashly, we may be in a passive position and may be annihilated.

In addition, Synesius also stood up and said that their Aetolian cavalry had abided by the covenant and faith and reinforced Brutus in the battle for more than half a year. It is impossible for them to continue to follow. Because in the spring of next year, they need to cultivate their own gardens.

After hearing the request of the allied forces, although Brutus felt very embarrassed, he stood up and stretched out his arms to express his farewell to Synesis and his cavalry. At this moment, the young and vigorous Calataphimius also stood up and criticized the Aetolians indignantly, saying, "The general often tells the soldiers that with you, I will be invincible. But without you, I will accomplish nothing. Although the spring farming is about to begin, the war is at a critical moment to determine the outcome. The four thousand elite cavalry of your state are our magic weapon to defeat the enemy. Now you want to send them all back to their hometowns. Is there anything more absurd than this?"

"But now our state and garden are only taken care of by children and women. If we continue to fight, then even if we win, our homes will be completely deserted, and the people we swore to protect will starve to death." Synesis avoided Brutus's pleading eyes and said so with some guilt.

"Don't forget how Lepidus treated the rebellious cities in this area. He sold thousands of citizens into slavery at one time. The Aetolian League is now in the Republican camp. If we lose the cavalry support and fail in the decisive battle, you will not be spared after the war." Calatafemmius hit his chest with his hand, looking very excited. "Why can we sacrifice Athens, but you can't sacrifice the countryside in the mountains?"

"Is there any difference between the countryside and the city? In ancient times, you Athenians have sacrificed the interests of others less! Why do we Aetolians bear all this?" Synesis and many tribal cavalry captains were angrily dissatisfied with each other's accusations.

"Now we are in the same camp, either we will be glorious together or we will perish together!"

Then, the whole meeting scene had a fierce quarrel, and finally Brutus blushed and shouted, "Shut up!" This is hard to imagine in terms of his previous style, because Brutus had always practiced a democratic military system. Rather than being a commander of an army, he was more like a fair and peaceful arbitrator. He would not force his subordinates to express their opinions, nor would he force them to accept his opinions. If he was really hesitant, he would use voting procedures to resolve the issue. He would never impose his personal will on others.

But this time Brutus was grief-stricken, with tears in his eyes, "Why, why are traitors like Caesar and Lepidus, who destroyed the foundation of the Republic and acted arbitrarily in everything, able to gather a strong and iron-blooded armed force at any time? Most cities and villages are forced to accept their bribes or be intimidated by their violence, and dare not resist at all. But in our camp, we have gathered the most outstanding people with the best morals and the noblest hearts in the whole Republic, but we have been defeated again and again. Is cunning and cruelty really going to run rampant in this world? In that case, there is nothing I can do to keep them. I will not force any allies and subordinates to die for the ideal. I always believe that the ideal requires people to be highly conscious and buried with it, which is also the most fundamental reason why it is higher than the secular world. So, my dearest friend, give me a hug. You should return to your homeland and don't continue to follow me, step by step to a dead end."

After saying this, Brutus lowered his head and shed tears, standing still in the same place, slowly stretching out his arms, and then forcing a smile, he said to Synesis with a sob, "I think it's better to say goodbye with a smile at this moment. All Aetolians, take care of yourselves, and live well with the glory of the ancient state. As a Roman citizen who is also proud of the state, I can definitely understand your feelings."

As a result, this made Synesis freeze there. He refused to hug Brutus, and then turned to all the tribal cavalry captains and said, "Although the Aetolian League has been in decline for a long time, its glory and trust must still be maintained by us, I hereby issue an order in the name of the state law enforcement officer. Men with families in the army can pack their luggage and rewards immediately and return; and single warriors will continue to follow me to fight. I will not go back. If Rome and the Republic of my friends perish, I will keep my promise and no longer live in this world. "After saying this, Synesius solemnly took off the laurel branch on his helmet and handed it to his 17-year-old son. "Take it and go back to tell your mother that Synesius of the Aetolian Megamont family has not failed his promise and responsibility and will soon rest in peace on a battlefield elsewhere." (To be continued..)