At dusk, in front of the camp being built by the Roman army, stood Adrius, a messenger sent by Davers, and two women and two children who followed him.

Under the curious gaze of the surrounding Roman soldiers, and before Camillus could send someone out to greet him, Adrius shouted in Latin: "Lord Camilus, Roman Dictator, His Majesty King Davers, in order to thank you for your kindness and help, has sent back your wife, daughter-in-law, and grandson, hoping to conclude a deeper friendship!" ……”

Hearing the repeated shouts of the Roman envoys, the surrounding Roman soldiers suddenly had complicated expressions and began to whisper.

The Camillus family was only a small nobleman in Rome, and it was even more scarce in his generation, Camillus only had one son and a few relatives, and this time he went to Herniki, he basically brought all the adult males of the family with him, not for fairness, because this was a war to be won, so he also wanted the men of the family to make some merit and benefits in this war, which led to the fact that when the Senate decided to retreat to Capitoline Hill, he lacked capable men in his Roman mansion to preside over the retreat, His home was not located in the heart of Rome, so his family's slow retreat led to not being able to make it up the mountain.

In the big tent in the center of the Roman camp, both Camillus and his son were surprised to receive the news, and at the same time Lucius was also glad, and he said urgently: "Father, quick! Send someone to fetch them in! ”

As he spoke, he sighed, "Although I hate the Dionians, I am very grateful for what their king has done this time!" He is worthy of being praised by the Greeks as a hero, and indeed has an extraordinary bearing! ……”

Camillus was silent for a long time with a painful expression, and finally squeezed out a sentence: "No, Lucius, we can't ...... Let them walk into this camp. ”

"Father, what are you talking about?!" Lucius thought he had misheard.

"We must not ...... No...... Leave your mother behind...... No! Camillus clenched his fist and slammed it on the wooden table: "This is the conspiracy of that Dionian king!" ”

"Father, do you know what you're talking about! It's your wife standing outside! Your daughter-in-law! And your two lovely grandchildren! Can you watch them fall into the hands of their enemies, tortured and humiliated? ......" Lucius asked in disbelief, angrily.

"Calm down...... Child. Camillus looked at his roaring son, his lips furrowed with difficulty, and tried to convince him in a trembling voice: "I...... I don't want to get them all back! But now...... Not now! Because the families of the other soldiers are still in the city, the Ionians only send my family back, what will the soldiers think! Did you hear the Ionian shouting outside the camp?! What do you mean by thanking me for helping them?! This is a conspiracy of the Dionians! If I do welcome back your mother, your wife, and children, the soldiers will inevitably be suspicious, and will they still obey my orders! How could an army that did not obey the order work together to retake the city of Rome!! ”

Lucius, who had always been obedient to his father, could not accept Camillos's explanation at this time, and he said bitterly: "Father, you are a dictator! Do you have to think about what the soldiers think? You must know that the reason why the mothers and their captives are not because you took away the young and middle-aged citizens of the whole city, you must quickly make up for your mistakes! ”

Although someone in private said something similar to express his dissatisfaction with Camillus, when these words came out of the mouth of his relatives, it pierced Camillus's chest like a sharp sword, making him feel dizzy, and he hurriedly supported the wooden table with his hand, and after a while, he said in a firm tone: "No, I won't do this!" But I will lead the army to retake the city of Rome and rescue our loved ones myself! ”

Hearing this, Lucius cursed and immediately turned around and went out of the account.

"Someone!" Camillus immediately shouted, and then said to the captain of the guard who had entered the tent with a painful expression: "Stop Lucius for me at once!" And also...... and sent messengers of Dionya and the ...... he brought Everyone is rushing ...... Rush back to the city ......."

"This ......" Of course the captain of the guard knew what was going on outside the camp, because there were soldiers everywhere in the camp.

While he was hesitating, Camilos shouted, "Go and carry out the order!" ”

"Yes...... Be! ”

When the captain of the guard left, Camillus sat down in a dejected manner, as if he had aged a few years again.

After a while, his adjutant entered the account, and was about to report the situation to him, but when he saw that his expression was gloomy, he couldn't open his mouth for a while.

However, Camillus noticed his presence and asked weakly, "What's the matter?" ”

"The scouts returned, and the Dionians opened the gates to the north and released some of the Roman people."

Camillus's first thought was: King Dionys's release of these Roman people is probably a deliberate attempt to divert the influence of the release of my family and make me change my mind.

Camillus wanted to inquire carefully about the present situation in the city of the Roman people who had left the city, but he was now weak and drowsy, so he had to say: "Go and settle these people, and bring a few men here tomorrow morning, and I will ask them about the situation." ”

"Yes, Dictator."

After the adjutant left, Camillus ordered the convoy: no one was allowed to enter the Great Tent unless there was an emergency.

Then, exhausted, he told the servant to make a couch quickly, and without eating dinner, he hurriedly fell to sleep.

………………………………………

It was past dusk and it was beginning to darken, and the soldiers had stopped camping and returned to their tents to eat dinner.

Camillus' lieutenant sent a Roman squadron to escort the hundreds of Romans out of the city to the exile camp on the east side of the army camp.

It is no coincidence that the Roman squadron sent to carry out this mission was basically composed of civilians, including their squadron leader Sextus, because the superiority of the Roman aristocracy was not only reflected in political affairs, but also in military affairs. Of course, the situation has changed in recent years, and some civilians have been promoted in the army, especially when Camillus was the commander of the army, but this is still not a common phenomenon, and there is still a clear difference in the treatment of nobles and commoners in the army, so when the soldiers are tired and hungry and it is time for dinner, this squadron of almost exclusively civilians is sent out.

Camillus's lieutenant also explained in a neat and eloquent way: "This is to take care of you, because the people who have been released from the city are from Mount Sirio. ”

Indeed, the Roman squadron of the inhabitants of Mount Sirio did not complain, and they hurried over, only to find to their surprise that they knew hundreds of old men, and that eight or nine of them were relatives of the soldiers, including the father of the squadron leader Sextus.

So, the soldiers rushed up and eagerly inquired about the situation at home, completely forgetting the adjutant's advice to quietly bring these people to the rear and not to disturb the army.

As a result, instead of responding to the soldiers' inquiries, the old men who had left the city persuaded them to flee the army and return to Rome to join the kingdom of Dionia.

Among these conversations, the persuasion of Squadron Leader Sextus's father to his son is the most typical.

"Father, what about Tuya and the children?! They...... Are they all right?! ”

"Don't worry, they're all fine! The Dionian army was very disciplined, and when they entered the city of Rome, they did not kill or plunder, and in this respect the Celts could not be compared with them, even ourselves...... It's not comparable. ”

"Father, you're actually saying nice things about the Dionians?!"

"Because it's true! Not only will I speak for them, but I will come to persuade you! ”

"Persuade me?!"

"I advise you to leave the Roman army at once and join the Kingdom of Dioonia with me!"

"Oh my God, you betrayed Rome?!!"

"It's not that I betrayed Rome, it's that many civilians in Mount Sirio and even in the entire city of Rome have joined Dionia!"

"Why?! Father, why?!! You're a Roman citizen! Having lived in the city of Rome all your life, you are a true Roman citizen!! You've fought more than 20 battles, you've won a laurel once, you're the hero of our neighborhood, you're mine—"

"I also took part in the battle with the Celts, following Camillus to drive out the Celts, but what good was that! You know, years of fighting have left me with no feet and hands, and I often get sick with fever, and I owe a lot of debts for the treatment, and if it weren't for the funding of my comrades-in-arms, I'm afraid that even my family's land would have been taken away by those nobles! The Roman Senate has protected our family from creditors because of my exploits—"

"Father, you don't have to worry, I'm already a squadron leader now, and I have also obtained a lot of loot on this expedition to Hurniki, so I should be able to pay off my previous debts!"

"Oh, I didn't notice you were the squadron leader."

"In the battle with the Helnihists, our former officer was wounded and died, and the dictator, Camillus, saw that I was fighting valiantly, and promoted me to squadron leader."

"But what's the use of that! Can you stop those greedy nobles and creditors from harassing our family?! Can I give you more land?! Able to serve as a mid-to-high-ranking official in Rome?! Can you ensure that the whole family does not have to worry about food and clothing when you are injured and can't hold the shield and spear?! ……”

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