Augustus Road

"There are three best ways to invest. One is to invest in fertile farms, the other is to invest in ordinary farms, and the third is to invest in barren farms." - Cato Lao

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Lepidus lowered his head, held the riding whip and was about to leave, because he still needed to deal with more important things, that is, to get the account books and the seven thousand talents as soon as possible, but at this time a tall figure flashed beside him, something a little bit... The drunken Anthony stumbled to the side of several carriages. Lepidus was very excited at the time. He hurriedly looked at the centurions and soldiers beside him. These people did not react. It happened in an instant. Anthony held on to the turquoise panel on the shoulder cart. What on earth was this bastard who only drank alcohol all day long going to do? Li Bida was about to speak out to stop it, but it was already too late.

"Now, what is before us is the death of a king, the death of a king." Who would have thought that Anthony would actually turn around and say such words to everyone. The commander-in-chief and the soldiers were stunned and watched quietly. Looking at him, there was a bloody setting sun under the camp, and there was an increasingly humid and fierce sea breeze. Lepidus' cloak was blown to one side, and the ends were constantly flapping, but Anthony did not stop his impromptu speech, "Even as a Roman citizens, I also need to give the king real respect." After saying this, he actually knelt down, raised the wax mask very respectfully, and covered Ptolemy's face, as if he was protecting the body of the most respected elder. , and then tucked the cuffs of the King of Cyprus' clothes one by one, followed by the remains of his wife and children. Lepidus slowly walked to the side of the "evil plague" and observed his expression, and then he had no choice but to I don’t admit it, but Anthony’s actions came from his heart, and this scene definitely touched a certain fateful scene in his ethereal spirit.

The chief eunuch fell at the feet of the two of them and was already sobbing. At this time, the white raindrops brought by the sea breeze fell over the entire camp. After Anthony finished all this, he stood up and stared at the rain slowly The gorgeous shoulder carriage slid down, stepping on the mud, and the wet hair stuck to the strong neck. He recited a line from a famous tragedy, "Before I perish, someone else must perish first."

"I envy your happiness, because you don't know anything." Li Bida wanted to say this to this person, but then he looked at the scene and sighed slightly, then shook off the wet mud from his feet, He walked towards the Temple of Love, which was surrounded by huge yellow rocks and green verdure. At this time, Sabo who was following him wiped the rain from his face, slowly stopped and pointed. The water in the distance suddenly said, "Damn, I think I saw Casillo's fleet, they are approaching the shore."

"What!" Lepidus' heart suddenly sank. He kept running along the natural cliff dome of the Great Love Temple, and then he stood at the foot of the highest cliff on the seaside, where a few birds were sheltering from the wind and rain. The Panjiao bleated and fled in all directions. The rain clouds had been quickly blown away by the wind on the sea. Among the rolling waves, a fleet of boats embroidered with the Pharaoh's golden cobra logo filed towards the long beach under the island. Come, yes, now he understands why Brutus follows his wife so slowly? Because Brutus didn't follow him at all, he probably returned to the deck of Casio immediately after the Thirteenth Legion landed, waiting to determine the location where Ptolemy's cousin was trapped, and then took the fastest boat to Du came after me for the seven thousand talents.

It turns out that these aristocratic republican scum can also use their scheming methods? Maybe this was little Cato's secret decision, maybe it was the plan of the dog-headed strategist Kaxiyue, but no matter what, it was really a good job.

Under the guidance of Dirimer, Brutus and Cannaideus sat ashore in a Greek-style sedan chair. Cassius still mysteriously hid on the boat and did not appear. Seeing Lepidus who was soaked like a drowned rat, Brutus Tu said apologetically, "I'm extremely sorry that it's raining so heavily and I have to trouble my friend to come to the beach to greet us in person."

"If you are here to collect the triumphal ceremony, then I am extremely sorry. The King of Cyprus has committed suicide by taking poison. He cannot be a prisoner of the triumphal ceremony." Lepidus said while standing in the mud.

"Don't worry, isn't the king's suicide good news for us? The Egyptian fleet is also afraid of it. We can talk about the distribution of the spoils leisurely and slowly. I think my dear friend, you can come up with something Did you give me a qualified account book?" Brutus jumped off the carriage and asked politely.

"The army's account books and the provincial government's account books are two different things."

"No, no, because now this island is entirely within the scope of the Roman province. On behalf of my uncle, I can provide you with a garrison and charge you a small amount of rent. However, according to legal principles, any building, any people and any wealth on this island , From now on, they will be under the control of the Governor's Palace." Brutus smiled.

"But our Thirteenth Legion."

"Where did the Thirteenth Legion come from? The Senate did not recognize that you are now just the mercenaries of the Pharaoh, but I don't want to cause trouble, so we still follow the previous agreement. But..." Brutus took over Cannadis who came out of the Temple of Love. He held a roll of vellum in his hand. Brutus took it and examined it carefully. "This is a copy of the account book provided by the high priest who is also a royal family. I think the original must be in your hands. By the way, it's called the Legion Account Book." After speaking, Brutus stretched out his hand. Lepidus stood still for half a minute, then took out another similar roll and made a move to hand it to Brutus, but was rejected by the other party with contempt. It seems that the original and the copy are no different to him at this time.

"3,500 talents each, it's settled. But the 800 talents you promised to distribute to the soldiers will not be paid by the Governor's Office, so there are two ways to solve it. One is that you pay the money yourself like a Roman, just like holding a sword-fighting competition for the citizens; the other is to discuss with your honorable Pharaoh and let him pay the money, after all, you are his loyal warrior." After saying that, Brutus and his party said with a sarcastic smile that this wonder is indeed unique by the ocean, and I think it can be used as a temporary base to wait for my uncle to return from Byzantium.

Lepidus, who stayed in the mud, stood with his hands on his waist and breathed, looking at the sea water coming and going in the distance. He seemed to be calming down, but soon raised his cane again, squatted on the ground and poked. Peteneus, Anthony and others around him knew that he was angry, so they winked at each other and left.

Only Sabo looked at the backs of Brutus and his group as they walked away, and then stepped forward to comfort the commander-in-chief, "After all, our harvest is not too bad. Three thousand five hundred talents, minus the eight hundred promised to the officers and soldiers, the rest can be paid to Pharaoh about two thousand, and the rest of the money is enough to support Egypt's war." (To be continued.)