Augustus Road

"I am one of the many. I walk with my head held high. I don't owe anyone a penny. I have never been summoned by the court. You can go to the square with me and get a loan in my name." I will give you the money, and you will find out how trustworthy I am, even though I wear an iron ring." - The proud self-portrait of a Chinese merchant in "Satyricon".

————————————————————————

"This..." Papinna was suddenly a little excited and touched, especially because this handsome oriental man was actually thinking about how to remove his status as a public enemy through personal relationships (such a private relationship) in the midst of busy affairs. Letters, Lepidus only needs to say a word to Claudius now, everything is there), so that he can return to Rome in an upright manner and enter the political stage again. Then is Lepidus willing to fight hand in hand with him in the years to come? No, no, now is not the time to think about these joyful things. I must get the opportunity to leave this dangerous camp as soon as possible, that is, Caesar's official invitation.

"Just wait patiently for another month or two. The Temple of Mercury in this city will bring us the best news, because we helped save it from the sea of ​​barbarian beliefs. Julius Your Excellency admires you very much, and he longs for you to be his arm. This sentiment is clearly revealed in my personal letters with him." Lepidus finished speaking enthusiastically, as if he was afraid that Papinna would not believe it, and then asked. Proof of this was taken out from Caesar's letters to him, from a beautifully decorated epistolary enamel casket.

Papinna stopped him hurriedly and politely. He had heard enough about the relationship between Lepidus and Caesar during this time. The veterans seemed to have seen it with their own eyes, and they often discussed certain details of the behavior between the two. The questions (postures, words, or who is the active party) were so loud that he was blushing and thick-necked. Of course, he did not want to read the personal letters of the two people. Once he saw some embarrassing passages, he really didn't know how to deal with them.

"Okay, it's time for me to say goodbye. Thank you for your kindness and generosity. I think I will offer a generous sacrifice to the Temple of Mercury, and then wait for the good news that comes with the monsoon." Papina said politely Say goodbye again.

"Please wait a moment. I think you also know that the legion will soon hold the inauguration ceremony of the altar of my god Numa next to the Temple of Mercury. By the way, we will come to commend the meritorious personnel in the Battle of Olcrese. I sincerely invite you to participate.”

As soon as Lepidus said these words, Papinna immediately showed an expression that suddenly dawned after being reminded, saying that I almost forgot how much we envy the beautiful marriage you forged before coming to Lusitania. I heard that your wife is Lao Li Bida's favorite granddaughter. She is virtuous and virtuous. I am afraid that I will inevitably bother your mistress a lot when we work together in the future.

"Please often come to the family banquets I hold. Even if it is arty, I will serve you the meals prepared by my wife at the banquet. But I am afraid I will have to convince her a lot, because the Roman noblewoman is both I don’t like to cook by myself at banquets, and I don’t know how to dance by myself (just imagining the scene of the little widow makes people shudder),” Lepidus said with a sincere smile, and then Papinna also laughed, and the two sides started talking again. After a few polite exchanges, the other party turned and left.

Looking at Papinna's back, Lepidus rolled his eyes casually and contemptuously, as if looking at a fish about to board the stove. He opened the letter box he had just taken out and found that there were only a few blank amber boards inside. , and then Pop turned out behind the curtain.

"Dear Pope, how is your relationship with Commander Apis in the Thirteenth Legion now?"

"You don't have to worry about this. We used to fight side by side in the Thirteenth Legion, and all of them were elite. I am now a senior centurion, and I am very familiar with the servicemen and guards of the Apis camp."

Lepidus then took out a letter and handed it to Pope, "That's fine. As the person in charge of the project of King Numa's small temple, you can submit the details of the closure to him. This is a courtesy. Then -" He He took out a small antlered idol from his arms and gave it to Pop, "Find a way to get this thing into his tent, secretly. Remember, you have to keep a low profile. I have already dealt with the rest of the things that are on the surface. It’s settled with Milu and Tagus.”

Not long after, the small round temple of King Numa next to the Temple of Mercury was completed, with a small merit column outside. The inscriptions and reliefs on it describe how the treasurer Lepidus and his army fought bravely and relied on their wisdom. He Juejue took advantage of the tide to capture the core city of the barbarian rebellion in Lusitania. In front of the double-decker steps, two rows of trumpeters played triumphant music hard. Sexdelius and Apis stood under the dome, looking with satisfaction at Lepidus at the bottom of the steps holding the statue of King Numa respectfully. The personal slave Habaluka beside him led the sacrificial ox and followed step by step towards the fireworks of the altar.

Looking at the inscription on the merit column, Lepidus couldn't help but smile to himself. I wonder if a thousand years from now, another university monk about my age will discover the remaining base of this merit column, and then maybe he will discuss the conquests of the late Roman Republic. Dominance? Or perhaps go into a long, incomprehensible tirade about who I am?

Later, in front of the temple, all the generals, in front of the soldiers gathered here, awarded gold chains, gold crowns and rewards to those who had performed well in the previous battles.

"Milu, the centurion of the first battalion of the Tenth Legion, is awarded the golden crown. He was the first to climb the front battlement of the city of Orcresi on the harp during the siege, and captured the crucial tower alone!" Amid the cheers of the soldiers, Milu stepped forward with a calm face, accepted Apis's embrace and the dazzling golden crown.

Then, as expected by Lepidus, Papina, who was invited to attend the ceremony, saw Milu's face and his legs were shaking violently. Milu also seemed to have noticed Papina and cast a fierce look in this direction. Of course, Lepidus seemed to feel nothing and just applauded and gestured enthusiastically.

The next person to receive the fourth gold chain was Tagus, a senior centurion of the 7th Battalion of the 10th Legion. This swordsman with scars all over his face killed five barbarian warriors alone when he broke into the castle, scaring the rest of the enemies to flee. This commendation meant that he enjoyed four times the treatment of a senior centurion, and the senior centurion originally received four times the food and salary, that is, the remuneration he received in the legion was sixteen times that of an ordinary soldier. There were voices of envy and dissatisfaction, but Apis liked this kind of voice, which represented the vitality of an army's vigorous competition.

However, Papinna's face became even paler.

Next, it was warriors such as Sabokemus and Hortensius the Younger. They all received the gold chain. Among them, Sab was even more excited. Seeing his direct subordinates get merits, Lepidus applauded more fiercely.

Papinna began to sit unsteadily, "Sorry, sir, I am very happy to participate in this commendation ceremony, but I am not feeling well. Can I leave early?" (To be continued.)