At this time, a quote from Portitus reminded them: "Now Camillus is the dictator of Rome!" ”

Yes, Rome now has a dictator, and during this period, all Roman resolutions and bills must be approved by him before they can be implemented, and now the dictator Camillus is on the march, and when he returns, the Roman army will also return, and the crisis will naturally be resolved...... The patriarchs suddenly had an idea in their minds.

In the past, the Roman aristocracy had many violent clashes with the commoners, mostly by delaying the crisis, and after that, everything remained unchanged as usual...... This time, they still decided to choose this option, and all kinds of coincidences led them to think that it was the gods who were protecting Rome.

They quickly passed a proposal: abolishing interest on debts owed by the Roman populace, allowing all citizens to apply for the rental of public land, limiting the amount of land to be rented per person, allowing commoners to hold important positions in the city-state, and considering that one of the two consuls each year would be a man of commoner origin, and the slaves who participated in the defense of the city would be freed immediately......

The senators passed the proposal, but instead of immediately going out to announce it to the people, they had their henchmen just return home, gathered diners, and let them quietly blend in with the gathered people......

When everything was arranged, they opened the doors of the Senate and announced the proposal they had adopted in front of the crowd.

The crowd present was overjoyed when they heard this, and some even shouted excitedly: "Wan Sheng of the Senate!" Rome wins! ”

At this time, the senators took the opportunity to announce: "Since the dictator Camillus is now in power, according to Roman law, the proposal we pass must be signed by him before it can be effective, so please wait a little two or three days." ”

The enthusiasm of the people has plummeted like a pot of cold water poured on them. But at this time, the clan diners who were mixed in it kept shouting: "Don't worry, Camillus is facing us civilians, he has spoken for us civilians many times in the Senate!" ”

"Yes, if you look at how many civilian officers have been promoted in the army he leads, he will definitely sign this proposal!"

"We only need to hold out for another two or three days, and when Camillus returns, we can enjoy equal rights like the nobles!"

"Yes, you must defend Rome!" ……

Although a few sensible people felt that something was wrong, the atmosphere of the assembly was stirred up by the aristocratic diners, many of whom chose to believe the words of the senators, and some of whom offered to become soldiers to defend Rome.

A crisis that was about to erupt was eliminated, and the patriarchs sighed. As for whether Camillus will sign this bill when he returns, they will not worry at all that Camillus, who was born in the aristocracy, will dare to sign that proposal under the pressure of all the senators, and whether the commoners will protest or even clash because they have been deceived, that is also a matter for the future, and the biggest danger in front of them will be passed first.

…………………………………

Now, about a mile from the east, west, south, and north of Rome was occupied by the Dionian army, and the soldiers of the Dionian legions, after a brief lunch and a short rest, began to build camp under the leadership of the officers.

In addition to the two cavalry legions, which were also tasked with observing the enemy situation and attacking at any time, and the palace guards to protect the king's safety, the other six legions, together with their auxiliaries, the laborers responsible for transporting the baggage, and even the crew of the Third Fleet, nearly 70,000 men were busy, and soon the surrounding area of Rome was turned into a large construction site, and the city of Rome was even covered in dust.

In the area under the responsibility of the Second Legion, Adoris and his comrades talked as they dug trenches with pickaxes and shovels.

At this time, someone shouted, "Is Adoris there?" Someone is looking for! ”

"Who?" No sooner had Adoris put his head out of the ditch than he heard a cry of joy: "Big brother! ”

"Klotto?!" As soon as Adoris saw the comer, Klotocatax had already run to his side.

"Why are you here?!"

"Father asked me to come and see you."

"I'm fine, my squad killed and wounded several enemies in yesterday's battle, and none of them were injured." Adoris patted his bare chest and said with a little pride: "You tell your father and let him rest assured." I'm busy right now, I don't have time to talk to you, so you can go back first. ”

"Father is busy discussing tomorrow's battle plan with the staff officers such as Tolmide and Printors, and I don't have anything to do when I go back now, so I might as well work here with you." Klotockataks pleaded.

"Okay!" Adorys simply agreed.

Crotokataks immediately took off his clothes and jumped into the dirty, dark pit of dirt.

"I'll introduce you, this is my brother Klotocatax." Adoris introduced to his comrades who were busy in the pit.

The soldiers of the Second Legion are mainly from the citizens of Turiyi, some from Amendolara, Bessinia, and Castelon, all of which belong to the Turiyi region, and the young citizens of this region are of course familiar with the situation of the Dionian royal family, and some may even have seen Klotockatas when they were studying at the Turiyi school and knew his identity, so they all greeted Klotocatax warmly.

Crotocátaz, on the other hand, greeted them with the humility of a new soldier and a veteran, which won the favor of the soldiers, and some even joked: "Even the First Legion is not as brilliant as our detachment, because there are two princes with us." ”

"Captain, give me another wooden shovel!" Adorys shouted.

The detachment leader, Timamanas, did not immediately hand over the wooden shovel, but asked in a cautious whisper, "Is your brother okay?" ”

"Captain, you're biased, why didn't you ask me if I could bear it when you beat me with a stick." Adorys said half-jokingly, half-seriously.

"Your brother is not one of my soldiers." Timamanra replied calmly.

"Don't worry, my brother has been trained in the military since he was a child, just like me, but he is not so squeamish." Adores said, taking the wooden shovel and handing it to Klotocatax.

Klotocatax immediately picked up the shovel and started drying.

Timamanas watched from the side for a while, and was relieved to see that the young prince was working steadily and well, and then said loudly: "Brothers, with the help of Crotokatax, let's work hard, and strive to complete the task as soon as possible, leaving the other detachments behind, so that we can get the reward of the captain, and let our detachment take on the heavy task of besieging the city tomorrow!" ”

The words of the detachment leader made the soldiers more enthusiastic about their work, and some even sang the battle song of the Dionian Legion, and soon everyone sang together as they worked, and the construction site was lively.

This situation made Klotocatax a little envious.

Just as he was stunned, the voice of Adoris sounded in his ears: "Isn't it interesting to be a legionnaire?" ”

Klotocatax nodded slightly.

"It's more interesting when you fight, even if you have some contradictory comrades, you will desperately protect you on the battlefield, and you will desperately protect them, at that time everyone becomes closer than real brothers, which is a kind of ...... A very special feeling! Adoris said with emotion and patted his younger brother: "You don't have to worry, you have just reached the age of 18, they were still in the reserve team when they were 18 years old, you have already gone to the battlefield, and you can participate in such an exciting battle." When you're older, your father will definitely arrange for you to serve in the legion. ”

Klotocatax nodded, but remembering what his father usually said to him, he was not sure if he could become a legionnaire.

……………………………………

In yesterday's battle, the Roman army was defeated, and Paulus, Megius, and Pantius fled into Antium with the remnants of the army, pursued by the Dionian cavalry.

Pantius fell during his escape and was trampled by the panicked soldiers, breaking his right leg and possibly having been a prisoner of the Dioonians if it had not been for the desperate rescue of his guards.

After entering the city, Paulus and Megius were in a slightly settled mood. But when the results of the count came out, they were hit again: the 25,000 people who went out on the expedition now returned with only more than 1,000 soldiers.

Fortunately, there were routs returning one after another. They learned from the rout that on the way from Lavinium to Antium, many of the rout were wailing because they could not walk.

The two men were anxious, and after deliberation, they decided to send troops to rescue the wounded soldiers, taking advantage of the darkness and the fact that the Dioonians had returned to the camp to rest.

This was a great risk, and some soldiers even refused to go out of the city to rescue, but fortunately, the Dionian pursuers had already entered the city of Ravenium to rest, so that Paulus and Megius were able to repeatedly lead the army and rescue the wounded soldiers one after another.

It was busy until the early morning of the next day, bringing the number of soldiers in the city to more than 12,000, but more than 5,000 of them were wounded and incapacitated......

Paulus and Mejus could do nothing about it, not to mention that at this time, both them and the soldiers were so tired that they almost fell asleep on the ground.

He slept until dawn, and when Paulus woke up it was almost noon, and he soon received the first bad news: nearly 400 wounded soldiers had died in the middle of the night.

Paulus, who was already in a bad mood, was even worse, and the bread was completely tasteless in his mouth, and then Mejus hurried to him: "The scouts we sent out found that the Dionians, who had occupied Lavinium, were gone. ”