Augustus Road

"When a farmer is working in the fields and a lice bites him, he will stop working twice to shake the lice off his shirt, but the third time he will burn the shirt with the lice. So I warn everyone, If you let me do it twice, you will not survive the third time." - Cornelius Sulla.

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Caesar once sent his friends Ebro and others to enter the city of Rome to lobby, but the results were not great. Even Crassus personally appeared in the Senate, and he could not resist Cato the Younger's eloquence. In fact, Caesar knew this very well in his heart. When he met with Lepidus in the public apartment for officials to rest temporarily in the port of Ostia, he clearly pointed out: "We cannot defeat Cato the Younger, because Crassus and I They are all from the aristocratic circle. This circle is the most ideal position for Cato to confront us. His family is his reputation, and his reputation is his justice. We can only defeat his obstacles in roundabout ways. "

"I understand very well that your friend Ebro is an excellent bureaucrat, but he is in the aristocratic circle and is destined to fail to defeat Cato the Younger. And because of traditional regulations, Your Excellency, before the Senate votes on this matter, you still You cannot appear in Rome, so I will be your agent to urge the Senate to vote on this matter as soon as possible."

"So what do we need now?" Caesar asked, sitting on an armchair in his apartment, taking a sip of mint water, "gathering civilians on a large scale, or intimidating the Senate through the army or citizens' meetings?" The bald man said about this This is an outrageous thing, without any hint of panic.

"This is just smoke. Now the city of Rome can really help you. I think there are three people, Claudius, Cicero, and Pompey." Lepidus said clearly.

As soon as these words came out, even Caesar himself was a little stunned. He really couldn't figure out how Lepidus connected these three people, but he didn't say anything, but politely asked Lepidus to share his opinion.

"My eyes and ears in Rome reported what happened during the year we went to Lusitania - Cicero and Pompey were both in a frustrated corner. They were good friends, at least Cicero Cerro thought so, and Pompey's plan to resettle veterans has been shelved by the Senate, and most of his original policies in distant eastern countries that he had not had time to implement were rejected by the Senate. As for the public opinion he is now obsessed with, The construction of the giant amphitheater on the Grand Campus was still in progress due to constant resistance from the Senate. Yes, this resistance came from one person, Cato the Younger. He doesn't care whether the People's Party gains power or the Aristocracy Party gains power. As long as he can regain the opportunity to shine in the political arena, in his words, he can continue to fight for the ideals of the Republic. Overall, he is a good candidate. Object.

"Yes, go on. I understand the meaning of what you just said, which is to unite Pompey and Cicero, but dear Lepidus, you have to know that this matter is a little difficult for me, because Crassus and Pompey's incompatible relationship." Caesar's tone was a bit awkward at this time.

"This requires the use of Claudius." Lepidus said with a smile, "We can use Claudius to become the lubricant in the relationship between Crassus and Pompey. As long as they have a common enemy, Cato the Younger, they should I will not be afraid of shaking hands and making peace. What I want to do now is to make Claudius hate Cato the Younger, make Pompey hate the Younger Cato the Younger, and make Crassus hate the Younger Cato the Younger. Cato becomes the target of public criticism, and things will be easier to handle. Then, we only need a key event that will cause the Senate to vote on you. Then you will ride your horse into the city, go to the Capitol Hill, and register as a candidate. Candidates for the Senate.”

After Caesar heard what Lepidus said, he laughed happily. He immediately took out a letter and said that it was given to me by Brutus and Seville. The mother and son accidentally mentioned something, that is, Pompey's recent attempt to please The Senate was preparing to propose to one of the other two daughters of Cato the Younger, Portia told Brutus, and Brutus told me through his mother.

When Lepidus took the letter and browsed it, he admired Caesar even more in his heart. He had an affair with Crassus's wife Tivilia, Pompey's wife Muchia (who had been abandoned by Pompey at this time), and Several of Pompey's lieutenants' wives had affairs, and he also had an affair with Cato's sister Seville, as if he were an angel sent from heaven (if there was such a title at that time), and women's husbands could not give them love. time, to rekindle their passionate pursuit of life and love, but what is even weirder is that although these women who had an affair with Caesar were all from noble backgrounds and often met in hairdressers and banquet salons, no one had ever been jealous of Caesar's monopoly. However, on the contrary, when there was any disturbance in the city of Rome that could be related to Caesar, even if it was just a boudoir disturbance, they would immediately ask the hairdressing maid and personal slaves to inform Caesar of the information and encourage him to prepare for emergencies. forward preparation.

This time was no exception. Lepidus read the letter and asked, "I think it is unlikely that Cato the Younger and Pompey will marry."

"But after all, there is such a possibility. Even if Cato the Younger hates Pompey, he will still consider the advantages of forming an alliance with Pompey. Now, since I want to compromise with Pompey, I will not allow this possibility to appear. Please go to Rome and follow your plan to ruin this marriage first. I believe your strength is as strong as your mouth." Caesar pointed his finger at the table and said in an unquestionable tone.

Come on, Li Bi Da understood that in history textbooks, talking about Caesar, Crassus and Pompey's compromise and alliance is just a matter of one sentence, but the real history relies on countless details, even such trivial matters, to form a chain link, which can move forward one by one.

This means that the "golden troublemaker" Lepidus has to go into battle again, because Caesar promised that as long as he was elected consul, he would be the official treasurer, and in the province where he left office, he would be the finance officer, and then he would arrange for him to wear a purple robe at the right age and become a senator of the Temple of Concord.

In this regard, even though Caesar and Sulla have different political positions, their behaviors are exactly the same. After Sulla entered the Senate, he killed and drove away the original senators. In order to maintain his dignity, he directly promoted his veterans and the knights he favored, and directly put on robes to enrich the Temple of Concord that had been killed. Since then, "the atmosphere has changed". Once Caesar controls the political situation, then being his friend or his political enemy will be a life-and-death decision. (To be continued.)