Augustus Road

"Real history is rare." - Samuel Johnson

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Antony tapped his finger impatiently on the armrest. He could not think of any reason to answer Lepidus' questioning for the time being. Finally, he rolled his eyes a few times - in Lepidus' eyes, this was a sign of him "thinking". At this time, Caesar's relatives such as Piso, Cotta, and Phedis also took turns to ask Antony to consider returning the deed of the estate to Octavian, the heir in the will.

"Please consider the grace that Caesar once gave to everyone! You and Lepidus were his most trusted deputies during his lifetime. Both of you had good intentions, but in the current situation, it is better to respect Caesar's wishes - Marco, I think my husband's veterans followed you based on your loyalty to Caesar, right?" Korpurnia also said earnestly.

Now, Anthony had nothing to say. He spread his hands and said vaguely, but clearly to Lepidus, "I am not greedy for this money. My expenses are also detailed. I don't spend any money on dinners and entertainment. But if I hand it over, how can I guarantee that these properties will not be coveted by others?"

"All the deeds will be given to Piso and Cotta for joint custody. When Octavian returns to Rome, they will all be handed over to him. I will not participate in the process. As for how he handles it, I will not interfere." Lepidus seemed to have a plan for dealing with it. He calmly put out the fire that Anthony had started. "But I need a guarantee." Anthony suddenly said this sentence below, "You know that the Senate is very repulsive to you. It is very hard for me to act as an arbitrator and mediator in the middle, so-they are afraid of your six legions."

"It's good to speak out your doubts, Marco. You should have been frank a long time ago, right?" Lepidus then smiled and made a gesture for him to speak.

Anthony hesitated. The scene he had expected of Lepidus's rage did not happen, so he went straight to the point. "According to the consensus reached by the elders after private contact, since Caesar has been deified and buried, the Sixth, Tenth, Twelfth, and even the Skylark Legion that will arrive soon cannot stay in the capital. They should move their camps to their original locations. The elders also asked us to swear an oath with Brutus's faction. Neither side should do anything that endangers the Republic."

"The specially elected father is shielding the murderer who killed Caesar, and Marco, you were asking the legion to directly participate in the capture and revenge." Lepidus said sarcastically.

Antony was naturally embarrassed in the face of so many Caesar's relatives. He could only explain that he had never given up the idea of ​​revenge, "but he couldn't risk overthrowing the country. Wasn't Piso also forced to hand over the key to the Holy Treasury? Because the Senate said that since Gaul had been subdued, the Holy Treasury had no meaning to exist." Lepidus raised his hand slightly, indicating that the irrelevant words would stop there. What other conditions were there?

"Octavian and Leo. The Senate promised that they would become tribunes next year, which is a major concession, because their age does not meet the requirements at all."

"Then. The opposite is that these two children can only stay in Rome, which is actually equivalent to being hostages handed over to the Senate by me, is that right?" Lepidus replied, and this sentence also triggered the anxiety of Piso and Cotta and others. Now even a woman like Korpurnia could see it, although Lepidus and Antony had not made it clear to each other. But Antony was obviously here to negotiate as a representative of the Temple of Concordia - Antony was bribed, at least partially.

"Don't worry. I can swear in front of the altar of our ancestor Hercules that I will definitely protect the safety of the two children." Antony's words seemed to be negotiating and testing the other party's bottom line.

Who would have thought that to everyone's surprise, Lepidus said very straightforwardly, "I'll leave the two children to you. There is also a young man from Maecenas who wants to run for the military tribune of the legion. I also hope that you can tell the Senate to make it convenient for me - I can retire after my success and watch the new generation of handsome men rise up after me, and let my shoulders provide them with support. But are you still going to let Brutus and Cassius go?"

"Of course not, but we should wait for the opportunity, right?" Anthony said evasively. Of course, no one knew when his so-called "opportunity" would appear. "Have you never considered yourself? Now that His Excellency Caesar has passed away, our titles of cavalry commanders have lost their legitimacy. You know what I mean."

Lepidus pretended to be surprised and said, am I not the default Macedonian chief executive next year?

As a result, Anthony laughed a few times, did not comment, and then got up to say goodbye.

At night, in a luxurious manor by the Tiber River, Anthony was asking his butler to take out a thick contract document, which was all Caesar's property, densely covered with official seals and various rings. At this time, there were about dozens of knights standing in front of him. "Caesar may be declared a rebel soon, and his property will be confiscated. In that case, we will lose all our money if we buy it." The old knight named Boyannis, who was in the lead, asked worriedly.

"So people like you will never make a fortune. How did Crassus become so rich back then? He just took advantage of the declaration of public enemies and decisively purchased confiscated real estate at low prices. Now that such a good opportunity is in front of you, you Are you still timid? I am the person in charge of Caesar's estate, and I will soon command the entire legion left by Caesar before selling these properties for funds - you also need to know the attitude of Caesar's widow towards me, that's true You are very relieved, so let me take care of the property of four thousand talents. If you don't have such an idea, then get out of this manor as soon as possible and ask Si Yan to summon the next group of people for me. "Anthony then tapped the table impatiently and summoned people outside.

Boyannis was convinced. He immediately pulled out a few real estate deeds from the table that he had watched in advance. As if he was afraid of being snatched away by others, he stamped his seal on them and asked the cavalry commander to do the same - and then the rest All the knights rushed forward, and Anthony leaned back on the armchair and proudly reminded, "Give me the money as soon as possible, and after the formalities are completed, I will hand over the land deed document to you."

"Is this really feasible? Selling Caesar's real estate, but you have already promised Picasso and Lepidus to hand over the land deed document to that young man Octavian." After the crowd dispersed, the butler replaced Antony He asked worriedly while sorting out the land deed and looking at the new seal on it.

Antony said indifferently, "Your worries are unnecessary, my dear. I didn't say that the land deed would not be returned to Octavian - before that, I would find a way to delay it from being kept by Picasso. Give it directly to that young man, I heard that he is still studying in the academy, oh--let Uncle Anthony tell him what the dangerous waves of life are!"