Augustus Road

“In the days of the Spartans, many things were done by women.” —Aristotle

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But when Cicero began to teach the second consul Byblos various debate and speech techniques in his free time, he realized how lacking in talent this person was in this area. He could not remember the gestures of the speech, and he was fancy. He had no vocabulary, and the tone of his speech was as lifeless and impassioned as the waters of the Tiber in winter. Sometimes, looking at Byblos standing under the flower gallery and trying to speak out, Cicero could only slump down in his chair, and even his slaves would hide behind the wall, secretly laughing at Byblos' stupidity.

Frustrated, Cicero began to regret that the debating skills he had learned back then were the "Hanamaki style" from the Kingdom of Pergamon. This sect focused on complex techniques and abundant emotions to conquer the audience, but in fact Cicero We also know that the Hanamaki style is not only difficult to learn and teach, but it is also generally applied in courts, because only legal officials who have received Greek education are interested in this and can understand its mysteries. When faced with the rude and illiterate poor people, when delivering a speech at the Tebris People's Assembly, it is clear that Caesar's "classical style" has the upper hand. Let’s talk about the problem without being muddled.

So at this time, Cicero further thought of the guy named Lepidus. Although his current position was at odds with this guy (or, in other words, had always been at odds with him), in terms of debating skills, he sincerely liked this mysterious man from the East. The other party's technique seems to be somewhere between the "Hanamaki style" and the "classical style". There is no fixed number and it is extremely flexible. It can mobilize the audience's emotions and grasp the key points of the problem. It just lacks some training. Now Cicero sees it again. He looked at Byblos, who was looking up and forgetting his words as always, and sighed in his heart: "How great it would be if the guy standing in front of me now was Lepidah!"

But Cicero's lament was just a sigh after all. During the period before the convening of the Assembly of Tebris, the entire city of Rome was boiling. Not only the people with the right to vote in the city began to stand in line and fight in the streets, but also those from other places. The suffragettes, both for Caesar and against the laws of the land, armed with daggers, chair legs, and iron bars, marched on foot or on mules and horses from Ostia, Campania, and Etrunia When people from all directions gathered in the city of Rome, Rome's taverns, city gate open spaces, public halls, etc. were overcrowded, and everyone wanted to express their unique and valuable "insights" in the people's assembly.

When the smoke from the Capitol Hill rose, in Cicero's house on the Palatine Hill, many senators stood solemnly in the orator's house, and in the center of the flower gallery, Cicero, Cato the Younger and Byblos, on the other hand, looked downcast and discouraged. Cicero confessed to everyone - the speech at the Tebris Assembly, unless there was God's favor, Byblos would not be able to To defeat Caesar, you must know that Caesar had become famous in the legal circles of Rome twenty years ago. He had accused the old Eulabella and Tuna's younger brother Marcus. Although he won and lost, sometimes he He got first blood, and sometimes he was given experience points by others, but overall he was impressive every time he appeared in court, which is the most important thing.

"Then continue to delay! Delay until we have completely convinced Crassus and Pompey." Cato the Younger said the new tactic, and Cicero gritted his teeth and said that this was the only way. Then he suggested that Byblos use the previous method to deal with Cati. Lin's call said that there was a vision in the sky, and he needed to submit it to the soothsayer of the Temple of Jupiter to continue to delay time. It would be best for ten days and a half. When the month comes when you are in power, you will not be afraid of Caesar. Yes, Caesar voluntarily handed over the right to propose and the staff, and there was no way to compete with us.

It was the practice in Rome at that time that as long as it was an individual, oh no, of course it is not just a person, as long as it was at the level of high priest, consul, or censor, any individual could claim to have seen an inexplicable flash of light. Clouds of unknown shapes, birds flying in strange postures, or seeing hens eating food not in the prescribed direction can all declare that the republic or city has encountered a disaster, and submit it to a fortune teller for divination, and you can take advantage of the opportunity Speed ​​up or delay the decision-making time of national policies.

This is also an old trick. Byblos thought about it and agreed, just use this.

A sound of trumpets came from the house of Cicero's neighbor, Tribune Claudius. A certain senator saw through the eyes of the wall that Tribune Claudius was surrounded by countless supporters. Next, he stood out from the gate of his house like a rainbow, and rushed down the Palatine Street to the main square, just like a legion engaged in a general attack.

After Claudius' men roared away, the senators who had gathered in advance were escorted by armed servants tremblingly to the crowded square, which had turned into a sea of ​​"mobs" in Cicero's eyes. , there are temporary tents everywhere, scattered weapons, stains of blood, naked women laughing, smearing olive oil on each other with the "residents" in the tents, vendors passing through selling various groceries, when they see people wearing Claudius, who was wearing cloak and boots, howled, knowing that the critical moment of the people's vote was coming.

"Remember, don't argue with Caesar with a speech first, first show that you have discovered the visions and signs." Cicero reminded in a low voice and gave Byblos a hard push. The second consul looked around and saw the end of the dense crowd, that is, opposite the main square. On the podium made of a bronze ship's bow, Caesar in white robes was calm and composed, and Lepidus, Ebro, Bardas and other staff were all over the moon. Alongside him, Byblos couldn't help but feel fear when he saw his powerful enemy in front of him, but the drama still had to be played out.

Thousands of people who came to attend the meeting saw their second consul Marco Byblos shaking his robe nervously, then roaring to the sky, and then jumping across the square that was exactly 300 Roman feet. , came to the high priest beside the podium, "O uncrowned king of all Rome, I follow your guidance. As a consul, I pay special attention to all kinds of omens that may harm the country. I just saw it, in the clouds above the square. , there is an extremely sharp white light flashing, so I beg you to temporarily shelve the vote on this bill, because this evil light may be related to it, and we must go through careful divination to convince the people. "

High Priest Copo Kilikis panted his fat body, looked at Byblos, and said: "What a coincidence, I seemed to have seen that fierce light in the clouds just now." (To be continued. . )