Augustus Road

As soon as the proposal of the two consuls to jointly attack Antony was passed, Lepidus sat calmly in his seat until the meeting adjourned. ︾，

The next day, Merut, the second consul, entered the military camp with his seal, cudgel, and insignia. He was surrounded by soldiers of the 15th Legion. He almost died. The soldiers pressed him against the wooden fence and beat him with sticks. After a pause, his servants and retinues carried him back on a stretcher.

Then, Pansa, the chief consul, wanted to lead the army alone. As a result, all the soldiers sat on the spot and no one obeyed the order.

The Senate was so frightened that they dared not say anything and prepared to cancel the expedition order. However, the four legions then sent military tribunes and actually surrounded the Juilliard Hall and threatened everyone, "Someone must take us to Alpine Gaul. If no one does this within the stipulated time, then we will punish those who break their promise.”

But now, there are only four days left before the auspicious day for the battle in the Sibyl prophecy that the Senate envoys obtained beforehand. The Senate must give an explanation to the soldiers. In addition, the soldiers also demand to see the murderer of Caesar punished. They were willing to obey orders.

According to this motion, there was a quarrel in the Senate. Casca and others resolutely and thoroughly opposed the soldiers' demands. They pointed directly at Lepidus, who was sitting upright and sanctimonious, and said that he was the one who planned all this.

"But the Sibyl Prophecy must be abided by. This is a rule defined by religion. No one in the republic can violate the rules." Lepidah came and went with this sentence.

Then, he lifted up his robe towards Casca, Aetius and others, deliberately revealing the lock curtains inside. Then he pointed to Medjet and the Lusitanian barbarian guards standing outside the synagogue. This is a silent warning. The implication is that the tactics you used to deal with Caesar are of no use to me.

The situation became more and more intensified, and finally Cicero took the opportunity to come out to clean up the situation. "Now we have two urgent resolutions. One is the issue of sending troops to conquer Antony. For this, we must both send troops to conquer and pacify it." Good for all soldiers; there is also the issue of punishment for murderers."

"Why mix the two problems into one? I completely think they can be separated. One problem should be solved one by one in order." Lepidus stroked the ring on his finger and began to continue "teasing" the specially selected father, "For example, Isn't it enough to deal with the commander of the Shannan Gaul expedition first, and then discuss the punishment of the murderer after Antony is brought to justice? In other words, as long as all the soldiers under my command make a fortune and gain something from this war. With generous rewards and proper land settlement, their anger will be controlled and their anger towards the murder of Lord Julius will be reduced a lot. I believe this is a good thing for everyone. "

After Li Bida's words were settled. There was a lifeless scene in the auditorium again. Almost everyone lowered their eyebrows and lowered their eyes with their own thoughts. Logically speaking, except for the dozen or so people who were the culprits and the sixty people who were suspected of being involved, the other elders were still very "calm" in their hearts. ’s: At most, after Caesar’s death, we were on the wrong team, so we wouldn’t have killed everyone? As long as Lepidus' wish is fulfilled...

A senator named Caponius, unable to remain calm, stood up and said that there was no need to delay now. I suggested that Lepidus, as consul, lead the army together with Pansa.

Amid the commotion, Lepidus remained expressionless and motionless. It was obvious that Caponius's proposal did not satisfy him.

"Not an acting consul, but a formal consul. Lepidus became a consul again as a legally elected high priest." Caponius added this condition, which almost made Merut faint and die. , you must know that he was elected as the consul in less than three days!

But Lebida still sat there without any expression.

Finally, the weight offered by the senators was that Lepidus, as high priest and consul, had a seat above Panza, with the power to command the army alone, and the treasury immediately rewarded each of the four legions with six hundred dinars in exchange for He was willing to go to Alpine Gaul to pursue Antony.

Lepidus stood up slowly, winked at Cicero, and then asked Merut to take off his consul's robe.

"But, you are already wearing the attire of a high priest, there is no need for this robe..." Merut begged with a sad face and a trembling voice, "At least allow me to accept it in a private residence. Let’s celebrate and finish the inauguration ceremony.”

"Dear Merut, you can just go and hold the celebration alone. I can lend you the dancers, clowns, musicians, and the beasts and sword slaves for the performance. But please give me the robe. I believe this should be done. I won't make it difficult for you." Lepidah stretched out his hand with a gentle tone - but that evening, Merut came out crying and wearing the robe of an ordinary senator.

Two days later, Lepidus forcibly summoned all the senators again, and then he announced that he and Pansa would jointly file an impeachment case, demanding that the censor Pinzer and the capital administrator whose behavior was stained in the "accidental death of the former dictator Julius Caesar" should be impeached. Casca, the former consul Banks, the praetor Aetius, and the praetor Terpenutas were immediately deprived of their identities and offices, and were not allowed to leave the city of Rome, awaiting trial and punishment.

"What are you doing? What are you doing!" When the entourage and guards rushed into the hall and arrested all the people, Si Pingzeer was furious and shouted at Li Bi Da, "Why do you treat me like this? What qualifications do you have?"

"Si Pingzeer, the crows on the house in your house are calling ominously. I think when you came to the meeting, the women and servants in your family heard this ominous sign, but for those who are punished by God and have poor hearing and eyesight, everything is in vain." Li Bi Da made this cold joke.

Banks lowered his head. When he passed by Lepidus, he tried his best to explain that he did not participate in the assassination. Lepidus replied, "Everything will be treated fairly after I return from the expedition."

The last person to come to Lepidus was Aetius. Lepidus stared at him and then said in a low voice, "You can summon ghosts to kill me on the spot, or have those ghosts begun to bite you back? Your retribution has come, Aetius, I warned you a long time ago."

Aetius said nothing, just stared at the high priest fiercely, and then was pushed out by the guards.

The rest of the elders were "stuck" to their seats, their legs were like sieves, and they couldn't run or stay. Lepidus circled the podium in the synagogue, and then suddenly threw a tablet on the desk. The synagogue, which was silent at first, was shaken unconscious by the sound.

"That's not enough! There are still dozens of people on this list. I need the inspector to remove all of them, including those who were just taken out, from the list of the Senate!" Li Bi Da shouted. (To be continued...)