Augustus Road

Who would have thought that Papinna was holding Lepidus's hand, shaking it again and again, squeezing it again, and the cold hand always refused to let go, like a big face like a bread dipped in red wine, decorated with a pair of Eyes like rotten walnuts looked at the young and handsome Lepidus, exuding bursts of erosive and ambiguous light. They kept saying the words "sincere cooperation" over and over again, and held his hand and wouldn't let go - now Lepidus understood, What is this old guy’s hobby?

I just don’t know if Milu and the others, who served in Caesar’s 10th and 13th legions, had a direct conflict with Papina?

After finally getting rid of Papinna's hand, Lepidus had to bite the bullet and start to deal with the aftermath of Caesar's departure. You must know that Caesar "left without authorization" before his term of office was over, leaving behind the army and the governor. Government and local government affairs, so on the one hand, they have to solve the issue of army delivery, and on the other hand, they have to raise a large amount of funds to help Caesar immediately campaign. They are very busy.

So in the busy process, Papinna also made some "intimate" physical touches with Lepidus intentionally or unintentionally from time to time. Fortunately, Lepidus had been in the Roman world for a long time. This kind of old man with the habit of Longyang The guy had seen a lot, so he finally kept his surname and managed to stay out of Papinna's clutches very cleverly. In addition, Papinna also knew that his current status was embarrassing and special, and he didn't want to cause more trouble in the military camp. Unfortunately, there was no real spark between the two of them.

The funds that Caesar can now mobilize include the two hundred talents spit out by Lepidus, the eighty talents that the war governor himself drew from the spoils of war before, and the "provincial funds" that the Senate allocated very late from the treasury. "Supply" (for the office of the governor) twenty talents, and the dowry of fifty talents brought by the girl of the Bisot family (Caesar's third wife Calpulia), and still set the tax rate at The gifts contributed by the grateful barbarians after ten were worth about fifty talents. After finally calculating it clearly, Lepidus felt that he was unable to do what he wanted. He couldn't help but report to Caesar, who was still standing in front of the map table and meditating, that the money Not enough at all.

"Oh, tell me your reasons."

"No matter what, Far Spain is really a poor place. There are too few things that can be looted and the price paid is too high. I roughly predicted that running for the consulship will require at least four hundred talents of funds, and the reward What about the legionnaires? They should be angry that they did not enjoy the triumphal ceremony. If there is no silver coin reward, I am afraid that there will be a mutiny on this battlefield." Lepidus raised his eyes and estimated whether he should borrow money from Crassus again.

Caesar smiled and said that you take the Thyme Legion's thousand-man brigade and follow me tomorrow to the camps of the 10th and 13th Legions on the other side of the Douro River. I have a good solution.

As the sun rose, after settling the situation in Northern Lusitania, Caesar and everyone, including Lepidus and the Thyme Legion, plus three war elephants, crossed the pontoon bridge of the Douro River and arrived at the two garrison towns. The large camp of the legion was surrounded by Lusitanian villages that were burning with smoke and fire. They had all been mercilessly looted before. The soldiers of the two legions were all lined up outside the camp, standing in groups under the watchtower or beside the fence, lined up to welcome the return of His Excellency the Governor and the friendly troops. Among them, the first battalion of the tenth legion was closest to the main gate. When Lepidah lowered his head and walked in, he saw Milu and Tagus who greeted him warmly. The two people also shouted "Calabis". Lepidah's eyes flashed and he pretended not to know these two people at all. Just walked in.

When Milu and Tagus saw Papina following Lepidus, their eyes and expressions changed. Before, Papina had always been hiding beside Caesar and did not show much appearance. Both of them were in the first rank of the legion. The brigade was either fighting in the field or encamping and marching. It was only today that we saw the enemy who killed the general!

But what surprised them both more was that Lebida seemed to have a good relationship with the thief, and there was a hint of joy in their mutual expressions.

Tagus gritted his teeth and was about to take action immediately, but was held down by Milu - he was a very cautious man and whispered, "Look at Calabis's outfit. It seems that he is already at the level of deputy general of the legion. He There should be a reason for such behavior, let's go find Pope first." Then, the two of them glanced at Papinna and Lepidus, then retreated and disappeared quietly into the crowd of soldiers.

"Listen, my name is Lepidus now. Pope knows this. Because I was afraid that my relationship with you would be revealed, I ignored you just now, but I have already considered it. After Caesar leaves, we will do it together. Kill that guy in Papinna." After nightfall, in Lepida's tent, he turned to Milu and others and said, "Believe me, it's just like when we collaborated on the big deal in the Warin Apartment."

"Okay, we believe you, but we have to swear an oath of blood in front of the statue." After saying that, Milu took out a statue with antlers and utensils and placed them on the table. Li Bida nodded, took out a dagger and cut his finger. Several people followed suit, and a few drops of blood dangled in the vessel. Then several people held daggers and rubbed the blades together several times to indicate the oath taking process. end.

The next day, Caesar began to have his messengers inform all the lieutenants, tribunes and centurions of the camp to gather in the small stadium, as he had something important to announce. So when Lepidus stood beside Caesar's podium in full military uniform, he had some doubts in his heart. Before, Caesar had told him not to worry about the campaign funds and soldiers' rewards, and that everything would be clear after arriving at this camp. So how would Caesar solve this problem?

After all the personnel were ready, Caesar cleared his throat and announced to the people present: "Everyone, it is true that in the previous battles, relying on your bravery, we have achieved great victories and obtained a lot of money by selling spoils. I also know that according to the practice of the legion, you will get much more than ordinary soldiers. After all, a legion has almost 6,000 people, and there are only 59 centurions. But now I have to ask you frankly, I will return to Rome soon to compete for greater achievements, and I need a lot of money. I am willing to lend you all the money in your hands at an interest rate of 30%, all the money, how about it?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was shocked!

Unexpectedly, there was a lot of discussion in the stands, so Caesar raised his left hand again, stretched out five fingers, and said: "I know, I know, the money earned on the battlefield is a hundred times more dangerous than the money earned by knights and tax farmers. So - I am willing to lend you all the money at 50% interest. I say it again, 50%! God, if I can't win all the battles in Lusitania and Rome, I will be publicly executed on the Capitoline Hill, and all my family members will be confiscated as slaves! I am willing to swear in front of the statue of Venus now that I will repay your money with interest in one year." (To be continued.)