"It doesn't matter what I think, it's what you think, General Maximus. Pen Fun Pavilion www.biquge.info"

Bunodius stood on the docks, staring with a sly gaze at Maximus, who was about to set out in front of him, and at this moment, as the commander of the Tenth Legion, he commanded one of the most elite regiments in Gaul. Even the army brought out by Apis himself was only a vanguard.

"Well, then, I'll tell you what I think."

Maximus paused for a moment, then continued—

"I will not betray Appis. He gave me honor and military power, and I know how grateful he is. When I was stationed on the territory of the Gaul de Léviri, I was an ordinary legionary lieutenant. And, it was heavily threatened by the Gauls and Germanic peoples. It was Appis, who led the Roman legions, who rescued me from dying in the land of the barbarians. And, it was he who promoted me, from a cavalry commander to an adjutant of the Northern Legion, and as you can see today, the most elite soldiers of the North were subordinate to my command, and all this was a glory bestowed upon me by Appis. Also, Rome needed Apis, Gaul needed Apis, and only Apis could defeat the barbarians and truly defeat them. Instead of building a few fortresses to scare the barbarians. At the height of Gaul's crisis, it was Apis who led the army north to block the Germanic invasion of Italy, and it was Apis who, in the face of adversity, led his legions all the way north, and finally drove the barbarians to the Elbe. Appis was the defender of Rome and the hero of the Republic, and if I betrayed him, I would be met with endless infamy. ”

Maximus stood in front of Admiral Bunodius and said righteously. This simple Roman knew the sordid and dangerous nature of politics, and he knew that if he rebelled at this moment and did not rescue Apis, and let Apis die in North Africa, then the whole of Spain, Gaul, Germania, and southern Britain would become his own territory. But at the same time, he knew that things were not so simple, Apis had roots in Gaul, and the Tenth Legion was not so easy to fool. At that time, if you are not careful, you will even be subject to military mutiny and regional mutiny. At that time, if the barbarians take the opportunity to go south again, they will be in a hurry. Maximus didn't like politics, and he wouldn't get involved in it, so he chose to refuse in the face of Bunodius's selfishness and desires. The seizure of power is not so simple, so hasty. It requires a long period of preparation, and it has no intention of being prepared for it.

Besides, whether the admiral personally appointed by Apis really wanted to rebel or not, Maximus didn't know, and Maximus even suspected that all this was just Apis sending someone to test himself. Perhaps Apis wanted to test his loyalty to him through Bunodius's words? In short, for whatever reason, the young Maximus rejected Bunodius's sudden throw.

"Okay, okay, you're great. And I'm just a mortal, an ordinary person. Ordinary people have weaknesses, greed, deceit, selfishness, yes, I admit that I have these shortcomings. ”

In the face of such righteous and awe-inspiring words from the commander of the Tenth Legion, Bunodius laughed at himself. Seeing Bunodius's treacherous face, Maximus suddenly understood for a moment why Apis had sent this man to infiltrate Wintus' fleet in the first place. Bunodius, even if you spend months or even years with him, you still don't know what is going on in his heart, he will always smile "kindly". Nonsense.

……

"He won everything, but he lost the hearts and minds of the people."

In the beige Roman administrative residence, Masinus said impassionedly to his colleagues. Octavia did not marry Antony, who wrote back two weeks later, rejecting Octavian's "olive branch". This move, as Octavian expected, only hurt Octavia's reputation, but in exchange for the hearts of the entire Roman people. Octavian knew that he had wronged his sister, and for the next few days he ran to Octavia's house every day, sugar-coated shells.

"Isn't it? Antony could barely gain a foothold in Italy, and the towns around Brindisi had begun to spontaneously oppose his grain requisition. ”

"But on the other hand, Anthony had to do the same. When he was in Rome, we can see his ability to manage. It's almost a third-rate commodity. If Cleopatra had not helped him take care of Egypt, I am afraid that with his own strength, he would not be able to guarantee that Egypt would have long-term peace and stability and that the economy would not regress. So Antony actually needs Cleopatra's support as well, so this time Octavian throws him a dilemma. Either Italy or Egypt. It was riskier to choose Italy, so he went ahead and chose Egypt. ”

Inside the residence, several dignitaries sat and made their own speeches. The situation was very favorable for Octavian. Agrippa defeated Apis in Africa, and the Italian people favored Antony as an alien race, as an invader. Once the people were mobilized, the consequences were unimaginable, and that was Octavian's purpose. Apis had carefully dealt with this issue in his previous fight with Octavian, while Mark Antony simply skipped the question.

Of course, Antony's self-confidence is not groundless, he has abundant funds, an inexhaustible supply of soldiers, Cleopatra has Macedonian blood, and all the Greeks hope to gain the glory and status of the past with the help of the queen. During Cleopatra's reign, the Greeks of Alexandria were full of devotion to the queen. With the wealth of the nobility and the densely populated towns in the eastern part of the Republic, Anthony had an innumerable number of legions. Therefore, after two days of deliberation, Anthony resolutely refused the marriage with Octavia.

When the news reached Egypt, Cleopatra could no longer hold back. She didn't care about Octavia, not even Anthony. What she cares about is her status and power. Octavia's greatest threat to her is the dispossession of her status. Cleopatra dreamed that one day his son Caesarion would ascend to the throne of Roman dictatorship. None of this would have been possible if he had not been able to become Anthony's legal wife.

So, worried that Antony would change his mind, Cleopatra took a boat from Alexandria to Italy the next day to meet Antony. She is like a homing bird, anxious to protect her love nest......