Augustus Road

"Work is not dishonorable..." - Ancient Greek poet Hesiod

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About the next day, the scout cavalry reported the news that Dithymus had captured the city of Mutina to Antony, who was sixty Roman miles away.

At this time, Anthony and Curio asked the counting slaves to count the "harvest" of the past few days. They felt that it was enough time to distribute rewards to all the soldiers, so they gathered five, eight, nine, ten and eleven The five legions built a high platform, forcing Leo to stand beside him, and then spoke to all the soldiers:

"What Deximus said about receiving a secret order from the Senate is insane nonsense. We are a regular and just army authorized by the People's Assembly and recognized by the Senate. Look at you, you all fought with Julius back then. .Caesar came out of Gaul, Greece and Egypt to fight together. Caesar's bloodline has long been integrated with your flag. Look at Deximos's army. They are all vulnerable motley crews and partial troops. There is another one... How can the army he formed privately with sword fighting slaves be able to compete with us? Now they have occupied Mutina, a city with a prior peace agreement, and expelled the local municipal council and residents. Looting all the supplies and burning the local buildings was simply an appalling war crime. The territory of the Republic was being invaded and defiled by Deximus, a careerist, butcher, and an 'illegitimate' son who faked the name of the Brutus clan. , so now we need to defend this country. My promise immediately is to capture the city of Mutina, capture or kill Diximos alive - preferably the latter, and reward each soldier with a hundred dinars. "

Just after the centurions and soldiers began to shout, Antony held Leo's shoulders, stood with him, and continued to say to everyone, "As for Dithymus's rumor that the former cavalry commander Lepidus and him Having formed an offensive and defensive alliance, this statement is even more ridiculous. Now Lepidus' son is the military tribune of my legion. This is real evidence of the alliance between Lepidus and I. Come on, Leo, tell it to everyone here. A few words.”

Leo was then pushed to the front desk. He looked at the densely packed brass helmets and white, blue, and red military robes below. He was a little confused immediately, but he was a calm child after all. Then he cleared his throat and said, "I believe that Caesar's right-hand men in the past should not fight internally. They should be united in dealing with the outside world in order to punish the real murderer."

Before the words could be finished, Leo was almost knocked to the ground by a wave of violent shouting. After the speech and the distribution of rewards, Anthony summoned the treasurer in the camp, discussed with all the military tribunes and chief centurions how to attack the city of Mutina. For a time, the cavalry outflanked and cut off the road, and the infantry He started to build a blockade and kept sending messengers to the city of Rome to refresh Acuta. He was very busy.

Antony even publicly demanded from the Senate that after his victory in Shannan Gaul, he should be granted the status of a sole consul in the coming year, as well as a five-year appointment as governor of Shannan Gaul, and for his "victory" A thank-the-god festival is held for ten to fifteen days.

Before the letter was sent, even Curio rarely stood on a united front with Leo, expressing great indignation and dissuasion against Anthony's misbehavior, but this man still went his own way.

When Antony and Decimus began to quarrel in the city of Mutina, the most lively and grand civilian athletic competition in the City of Seven Hills was about to begin. All citizens of appropriate age could participate in this event: wrestling, riding, etc. martial arts competitions, swimming, etc. In addition, this is also the best time for aristocratic politicians from all parties to win over public opinion. It can be regarded as a festival as important as the Triumph and Saturnalia.

"Dear Brutus and Cassius, I believe you are still worried about whether your hands are stained with Caesar's blood and are hated by the people. But don't worry, this festival is just the time for you to show off. , collect donations from the Senate, hold events for the people in your name, and give gifts, the people's hearts will soon come back to you." In front of the Juilliard Hall, Cicero greeted after the meeting. Brutus and Cassio greeted them warmly and advised them in this way.

Brutus was silent for a while, then nodded and said to Cicero that I will follow your advice. Even if there will be shameless accusations, I will have no fear. Winning people to trust me is what I should be doing. As part of pursuing political ideals, spending money or even bribes can be exempted from the goddess of justice.

"Very good, very good." After saying that, Cicero quietly pulled the corners of the two men's robes and asked in a low voice, "I think this war may not be resolved in a short period of time. The battle between Decimus and Antony The mutual military strength is a balance of power, and the two men's military talents should be similar. And Li Pida's position is still unknown. He is still walking on the edge of accepting or rejecting the amnesty order, so you two should take this opportunity to ask The Senate asked for two provinces to settle down." After speaking, Cicero made a slight gesture, meaning where do you want to go?

"I want Lusitania." Casillo did not shy away from it, because he had served as acting governor there, had considerable connections, and was confident that he could seize land and organize an army.

Brutus hesitated for a moment, "I don't care. If possible, the lesser provinces are fine, such as Cyrene, Cyprus or Crete."

After hearing this, Cicero nodded, saying that he would help with this matter as soon as possible, and then he said in a deep voice, "We had some dissatisfaction in Ephesus before, but that is over. Please believe that, The old man in front of you is still a loyal follower of the Republic at heart, but fighting with swords is not my specialty, so sometimes I choose to avoid a negative attitude, but now as long as I can help , I will not hesitate to use my strength for you to drive..."

But in the evening, Cicero sent someone to send the news to the Executive Council at the Port of Ostia, which was also Octavian's headquarters. "Leo, please be patient for now, it will be your turn soon." Our counterattack." Octavian said.

The next day, Octavian came to Caesar's old house, paid a respectful visit to Caesar's widow Corpunia, and said to her, "Dear adoptive mother, you should still be immersed in the grief of losing your adoptive father. I don’t know much about the situation outside, that is, the people and soldiers have been deceived and fooled. Some of them have been driven by careerists and become tools, and some of them have been seduced by their enemies in remembering their leader Caesar. Dilute it. So in the civilian competition, I will try to rekindle their consideration and memory of their adoptive father and his death. "

"Do you need any support from me? My child."

"I need the treasures left by my adoptive father, his laurel crown, his golden seat, and his robe." Octavian said, "I want to use a colonnade specifically for the games to display these. Everything is on display.”