Augustus Road

So, does Caesar's treatment of the Helvetic people have some hint of public and private revenge? But this is nothing to Caesar. Lepidus has emphasized many times that this king has always been a character who completely combines "public" and "private". .

Sure enough, starting from the second day, legion soldiers continued to come out in large groups or hundreds of people in the winding gorges of the Alps. These people who had suffered from marching walked down the windy valley and suddenly came to On the shores of Lake Leman in April, when they felt the spring and the beautiful scenery, they all felt like a dream, but soon the tapping of the canes of Caesar's centurions brought them back to reality: Have you finished enjoying the wine and hot bread? ? Have you recovered your physical strength? After everything is fine, go back to your job and dig the soil along the south bank of the Long River for me!

What surprised Lepidus was that he asked Sabo to carefully count the number and numbers of the legions gathered in the gorge, and found that the Eighth and Nineth Gallic Legions, as well as his own Illyrian Twelfth Legion, were all coming in one after another, but Interestingly, the seventh legion led by Rabinus himself and the fifteenth Illyrian legion of Apis disappeared.

But what surprised him even more was that the two legions did not come to the garrison in Geneva. As the chief officer, His Excellency Caesar ignored them, as if he did not have these two numbers under his command, even if Lepidus mentioned it , Caesar just smiled, and then turned the topic to asking about the progress of the fortification construction.

In fact, in about ten days, the fortifications on the south bank of the Rhone River were completed. Behind the stretches of Luzhai and Muzha, the Twelve Legions were stationed and guarded on the Jura Mountains on the far right, covered with military uniforms under the flag of the Balantia Mountain Falcon. Under the rising sun on the eleventh day, Lepidus saw the densely packed camps and workshops of the Helvetic people on the opposite side, with countless smoke rising, "We may be responsible for no less than 80,000 people here. Because there are the most Asases here." Behind him, Milu and Pope came over and said, "Even if we have trenches and wooden fences, we only have one legion in this area, with five thousand people. It’s all a sieve.”

"I still can't figure out why the two legions have lost their traces, and the governor didn't even ask. If these two legions were used as second-line reserves, they could complete the entire blockade, but where have they gone now?" Li Bida's He felt a little anxious. He always felt that there was some pre-arranged agreement between Caesar, Rabinus and Apis, but this kind of secret that excluded him made him feel like he was stuck in his throat.

At this time, the top soldiers at the foot of the mountain suddenly rushed out of the long grass where they had been ambushed in advance. Holding heavy javelins, they threatened a Helvetian warrior who rode through Asase without authorization, and stopped him before he approached the wooden fence. , because according to Caesar's requirements, during the construction period and after the completion of the fortifications, anyone who arrives at the wooden fence should be killed on the spot. This order is obviously aimed at the Helvetic people, and Caesar also obviously wants to provoke A war started, but in reality, both Lepidus and the barbarians on the opposite side were very cautious - the Helvetic people were keeping their promises, and they did not want to go to war with Caesar for the time being; and frontline commanders like Lepidus wanted to get it right. It was prudent. No one wanted to be sent back to Rome for "illegal war" and be tried by the Centurion under the instruction of the Senate.

As a result, the braided Helvetic man was brought to the Jura Mountains. Looking at this blond and blue-eyed man who should be the ancestor of Switzerland, Lepidus suddenly felt a sense of historical joy: these people are regarded as such at this moment. A barbarian who knew nothing but herding and robbing became world-famous two thousand years later for opening banks and manufacturing precision machinery.

The warrior pointed to the sky and the ground, and said something very excitedly. According to Sabo's understanding and translation, this warrior was complaining to the gods, why did your Lord Governor break his promise and build military fortifications within the promised period? , and hoarded a large number of ballistae and throwing guns.

Lepidus shrugged his shoulders and said: "I am also following orders on this point. You might as well stay in the camp first. I will submit your doubts to the governor, hoping to give you a reasonable explanation." After that, he said to the boy. Hortensius said: "Go and report this to His Excellency the Governor!"

Then he said softly to Sabo next to him: "Give this guy a little more time, delay!"

Of course, Lepidus certainly had a way to delay the Helvetic man. Many Celtic tribes north of the Po River all had the same surname. They loved to drink wine, especially wine. Many Gallic men wanted to drink it. This delicious and narcotic liquid will sell your children for a bottle of wine. However, according to Caesar's understanding, this alcoholic culture has not yet spread to the valleys and forests north of the Alps, but Lepidus firmly believes that racial genes are all figured out, even if the Helvetian warrior in front of him has previously He has never been exposed to alcohol, but it is as easy for him to fall in love with this thing as it is for a Russian to fall in love with drinking airplane antifreeze. "In the United States, you drink vodka, but in the Soviet Union, vodka drinks you."

Sure enough, at night, the warrior kept asking for that "god-given drink" in the camp where he lived alone. You must know that this was Lepidus's personal collection. It was brewed from the highest-grade grapes in the Greek countryside. It was as big as an amphorae. It would cost fifty dinars more. The warrior kept drinking, and gradually began to howl with joy, and then danced enthusiastically. Seeing that the time was ripe, Lepida sent several more Ligurian girls in.

Just like that, for the next two or three days, the warrior didn't even mention the word Caesar.

After receiving the report, Caesar easily pressed the sand table with his hand. His eyes were fixed on several other passes in the Alps. The whereabouts of the Seventh and Eleventh Legions were naturally there. As long as Labinus and Apis rushed out at the same time, they could cut off the Helvetii's way to the Sequani Pass. The three and a half legions in his hands followed behind, and the fate of this huge tribe was to be annihilated on the spot.

Even better, the considerate Lepidus was very considerate and delayed their envoys in the Jura Mountains to win precious time for preparation. In fact, on the fourteenth day, the drunken warrior who was responsible for diplomacy stood in front of Caesar.

"Your department has no excuse to condemn me, because I only said to give me two market days to consider, but did not promise not to build fortifications for the legion, because this is what every Roman legion stationed in will do, and this is the custom of the Roman nation. Moreover, I am waiting for the order of the Senate, so peace or war with your department is within the scope of possibility." This time Caesar's tone was full of unquestionable.

So the drunken warrior shouted, has the order of the Senate been issued?

Caesar swung his robe sleeves down and said with a serious expression: "The order has not been issued yet, but as the highest executive of the province, I can issue such an order - that is, you are not allowed to cross the Rhone River and set foot on the land of my province!" (To be continued.)