Augustus Road

"In a huge society, the monarch can never find the most talented person to take up the position, nor can it meet the wishes of the largest number of people." - Edward Gibbon++++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

On the stormy sea, Byblos, the supreme commander of Pompey's fleet, looked flushed and hoarse. He had already caught a severe cold due to age, fatigue, exposure to rain and wind, etc. He was lying on the deck, surrounded by The slaves raised his cloak and fed him herbs, but the nobleman with the highest rank in Rome still struggled to get up with a hoarse voice, and sat in the puddle with the ordinary crew members, scooping water out and dumping it. , the more we need to strengthen our defenses against Caesar. He is a cunning opponent who likes to take things by surprise. Everyone should cheer up. I have already said that Sextus doesn’t want to sacrifice prisoners to the gods, so he is against Poseidon. "It's blasphemy, that's why the weather is so bad, cough cough cough cough!" Byblos covered his chest and coughed violently, as if his lungs were full of swollen gas and water. He divided the fleet into three columns. There was nothing these days. The purpose of patrolling the seas of Dalmatia and Apollonia lazily is to capture Caesar's possible sea-crossing fleet, destroy all the bald man's ships and capture them, and imitate pirates and throw Caesar himself into the sea to feed the fish.

But several days passed, and still nothing was found. Byblos really couldn't support it. He fell ill and could no longer effectively command the fleet. Since the victory of Curicota. An air of relaxed pride began to arise in Pompey's army. Even veterans like Libo and Maximus. He was also thinking in his mind: After Caesar's previous disastrous defeat, three to four thousand troops were captured, and many naval ships were also lost. His own fleet was very weak, and he should not take risks in such bad weather again.

So, in the end, the slaves lifted Byblos, who was seriously ill and delirious, and disembarked from the sea in Dikha, and sent him to the city of Apollonia for recuperation and treatment. Maximus became the commander of the city's garrison.

At the same time, General Lailias's elite Macedonian First Army and Second Army quickly moved northward and began to enter Caesar's Illyrian province. This province was a "dowry" when Caesar became governor of Gaul. Caesar did not put too much enthusiasm into this province, such as sending tax knights or bloody expeditions against barbarians, so the scene was always peaceful. Most of the colonial cities held a pro-Caesar stance, so they became the key targets of Pompey's crusade.

then. While Byblos was still lying on the hospital bed with a fever and talking nonsense, the weather on the sea suddenly changed from the storm of the previous month to sunny and quiet.

Caesar of Brindisi immediately seized the good weather that only lasted a few days and quickly sent out his army!

It was already evening. When everyone saw seagulls circling easily on the sea, and after observing the faint stars, they judged based on experience that the next few days should be sunny and windless. Caesar immediately called everyone The camp quickly mobilized and armed, "rush to Greece to welcome the final victory. After a decisive battle, Pompey has lost the war, so don't be greedy for anything, leave all your luggage in this port, and pack lightly." The more ships, the better. Trureas stayed in the port to dispatch the ships. All the ships were divided into two teams, and I personally led the front team. Soldiers, as long as you can win in Greece, the wealth there will be. I have everything, and when I look back at the luggage left in Italy, I’m afraid it will look like a broom.” Caesar ended his speech with this wisecrack.

"We are willing to obey orders and oaths and follow Lord Dictado to fight across the ocean." Eighth, Nineth, Tenth, Eleventh (brought back by Eulabella), Twelfth and the newly recruited Twentieth Legion , a total of six legions, took action one after another. They held torches, boarded the ship, endured the unpleasant smell of moisture, and were next to the war horses and beasts of burden, because they knew that Caesar would personally command them, that is Symbol of victory.

Just as Caesar was riding on a white horse and watching the soldiers boarding the ship, Milu, his captain of the bodyguard next to him, reported: "The Eleventh Legion and the Twelfth Legion are relatively large in number. The former has four thousand people and four hundred cavalry." , the latter (organized by Lepidus) is the strongest, with 6,000 infantry and 1,200 cavalry; but the remaining legions, because they have been fighting non-stop, have suffered a lot of injuries, and now there are only 2,000 less and no more. There are 3,500 people. As for the 20th legion, they are all rookies and can only be used as troops to stay behind and escort the baggage. "

"Milu, you should understand that my confidence lies in these people. The reason why I dare to cross the sea and abandon the retreat to fight Pompey's camp is because although I lack senior generals, I have Lepidus, Antony, Young heroes like Curio and Eurabella, although they lack experience, are brave, courageous, loyal and energetic - in addition, my team of centurions and backbone veterans are stronger than Pompey's rabble. Pei's core combat strength consists of those elite legions, and since his triumphant return from the East, most of the backbone of his army has been lost due to retirement, and the reorganized army has not been in the legendary position due to many years of inactivity. He is so powerful, and we wiped out Pompey’s 130 legions and allied soldiers in Spain. He doesn’t have that much blood left, so we don’t need to be intimidated by him.”

Just as Caesar was narrating confidently, Antony, with a shameful face, rode slowly to Dictatore in plain clothes in the night. But before Antony could say anything, Caesar waved at him enthusiastically, "Marco, what are you waiting for, you will be the commander of the rear team after I pass the front team. You will face an alert enemy fleet. Seize the opportunity!"

Over there, the Thirteenth Legion, which had received the message of Caesar's crossing the sea, was originally on its way north to Ravenna, but suddenly stopped, then turned back and came to the city of Rome to station.

This news was immediately passed to the ears of Pompey's spies in Rome. As a result, that night, the patrol of the Thirteenth Legion caught several slaves who hid letters and were ready to spread their movements. Lepidus had been prepared, so he wanted to "create intelligence", that is, suddenly order the Thirteenth Legion to do weird and unreasonable behavior to induce the traitor to appear.

Soon, Lepidus mobilized the "slave fire brigade" and obtained intelligence after torturing the secret envoy. He captured Princia, the most famous socialite in Rome, and brought her to his own house.

"We meet again. Your elegance and appearance are even better than before, my dear beautiful lady. I thought you fled to the countryside when my legion entered Rome. I didn't expect you to come back again? You didn't come to me to reminisce and hold a banquet. We used to be such good dance partners!" Looking at Princia who was held down by his slave soldiers, Lepidus, who was sitting on the seat, said with a creepy tone of anger. (To be continued...)