"What I want - the position of consul of Rome. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

Octavian said "calmly" to Cicero.

"Oh, no, Caesar, that's too unruly, your military prowess may be sufficient, but you're still too young. My young friend. ”

Cicero replied calmly in the face of Octavian's request. This was a historic meeting, Octavian directly found Cicero after entering Rome, proving that he actually cared a lot about the character of Cicero, although he was not entertained before, but Octavian also knew that at this time the domestic public opinion was almost all under the influence of Cicero, and the article he published "Impeachment of Antony" quickly caused repercussions in Rome, and without this article, many military actions were questioned by the people. And now, Octavian found Cicero, not only to thank him, but also to ask for a deeper "cooperation".

It's just that Cicero has been prepared for this "cooperation", he remembered what Apis told him about Octavian's possible next move, becoming an archon and bribing people's hearts to capture Brutus is Octavian's most likely action, and now, this speculation has become a reality, so when Octavian says such a request, Cicero can treat it with confidence. It's just that in order for Appis to continue, Cicero still needs to disguise himself in front of Octavian and finish the play smoothly.

"Laws are man-made, and they can be changed by man, and my father changed many laws for the sake of the future of Rome, and I think I have the same power now. Didn't you already help me with the triumphal ceremony? I don't think it's hard to become an archon. ”

Octavian said coldly. His words were always so calm, and his breath barely had any fluctuations, which made Cicero, who had always been a passionate talker, uncomfortable, but this was Octavian. He is calmer and more rational than any of his peers. At the same time, this time, without the addition of a sword, Cicero felt a hint of cold coercion. If it hadn't been for Appis to tell the whole story in advance, Cicero felt that he really couldn't cope with this young boy at this time.

"Octavian, you know, triumph and consul are two different concepts, triumphal is just a formality, more often than not, it's just to satisfy people's vanity, but consul, you know, it's a power, a supreme power, it's not of legal age, it's very difficult to be in this position. I've already done the triumph for you, and you know how much pressure it has put on me, so I'm afraid I won't be able to convince the entire Senate of the Senate in this matter, I'm sorry. ”

Cicero showed himself to be weak and innocent in front of the wise Octavian, and in fact he was wronged, and in fact it was, although in private Apis intended Octavian to become consul, but in performance, Cicero had to show great reluctance so as not to arouse the suspicion of the clever Octavian.

"No need to shirk any more, Cicero, my army is just outside the city, and in two days, if there is no reply from the Senate, I will follow my father's example and bring the dictatorship here, and when the time comes, I will divide all the rights and interests of the city equally with Lepida, then, the Senate, there will be nothing to do with you."

Octavian did not negotiate much about Cicero's absence, but directly issued a "final arrest warrant" after a few words.

The aged Cicero looked aggrieved and embarrassed, and his wistful countenance was reminiscent of Caesar's first entry into Rome with his legions. By that time he had fled with Pompey to Brindia at the southern tip of Italy.

……

"Cicero, you don't have to say it, let me guess, Octavian forced you to run for consul for him?"

Cicero and Apis only met on the third day at the house of Crassus Jr., and when they did, Apis smiled and joked. Little Crassus was on the side, and he couldn't help but laugh. Appis, Cicero, Crassus Jr., and Lepida have long become a community of interests, while outsiders probably only perceive the alliance between Lepida and Appis.

"Yes, as you might have guessed, Octavian was so arrogant that he even threatened me to follow Caesar's example and bring the sword to the Roman square."

Cicero replied with a smile. In the past, Cicero in such a situation must have been troubled by this incident and sleepless day and night, but now, there is an Apis, Lepida, a solid ally, so that the "wall grass" Cicero is confident and very stable, of course, the advice that Apis gave him, in front of outsiders, still try to keep a panicked appearance. After all, Octavian was a very powerful figure.

"And how do you answer him?"

Little Crassus chimed in with a laugh. In this private bathhouse, except for the three of them, there was no outsider at the moment, and even the servants were sent outside.

Then I said nothing, and looked very uneasy. As Octavian left, I saw his triumphant expression. ”

Cicero said, taking off his bathrobe and slowly descending into the water, the heat of the hot spring just masking his old, ruddy face.

"Ha, the young man probably thinks that you will be unable to sleep at night after being threatened and intimidated by him."

Little Crassus answered.

"Don't get complacent just yet, we have a lot of work to do. I would expect Octavian to please the Roman populace by declaring Brutus an enemy of the Fatherland when he became consul, but he didn't really want to attack the East, because he wasn't strong enough, Antony was entrenched in the north, and the armies of northern Italy and Gaul were strong enough to threaten Rome proper. Although Antony would not have been stupid enough to attack Octavian's army during Octavian's attack on Brutus, Octavian wanted to prevent the worst from happening. Octavian was a calm and almost ruthless man, and many times we cannot understand him with ordinary human thinking. ”

Appis solemnly reminded the two of them when they were triumphant, after all, before the matter was reached, everything was uncertain.

"Appis, it's just about your plan, I still have a question, in case Kventus doesn't agree with Brutus's approach, everything we have planned will have no possibility of follow-up."

Cicero then asked. As Appis said, everything is unpredictable until things work out.

"Cventus is not at all what I planned, my friend, Cventus is very clever, he will certainly not agree to use the legion temporarily, but Brutus will, he will do it, and that is enough, Brutus, you need to know what kind of person he is, in fact, the assassination of Caesar is still a knot in his heart, he does not want to live that life in a foreign land, in his heart, all the time longing to return to Rome, to return to the place where he belongs, And the funds to raise the legion were not made by Kventus alone, and there was also Brutus' share, as long as Brutus wanted to come back, Kventus couldn't help him, and in the end, he could only compromise Brutus. And we, from beginning to end, planned Brutus, and Kventus was too clever for us to calculate. ”

Apis lay down in the pool and spoke slowly......