The day after Sekras went north to Gaul with Apis's orders, Caesar's orders came down, and as Apis had previously suspected, Caesar's intention was to attack Spain first, rather than landing directly in Greece. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

And just in case, Caesar did not send all the legions to Spain, but sent only six legions there, and the remaining four legions remained stationed in Rome. The task assigned to Appis was to set out from the sea with two legions, pass through Sardinia, and land in Spain. The other four legions, led by Antony, entered Spain from the province of Aguitania. Obviously, most of the food was already ready before the ships were on board, and Anthony's four legions could be replenished along the way.

Before leaving, Apis followed the ancient Roman way, first going to the temple of Mars, the god of war, and Poseidon, the god of the sea, to divination, and at the same time praying for the protection and favor of these gods. Usually at this time, the results of the divination can determine the morale of the soldiers on this trip. This practice, which is considered very ignorant in modern society, is the most advanced method in ancient society...... At the same time, it is also the most mysterious ritual.

"Poseidon, the almighty god of the sea, I will offer the blood of a goat as my sacrifice, and may you show the way ahead for the Roman legions, and in this rough abyssal sea, may you show us the way forward. If the road ahead is dangerous, tell us, your humble people......"

In the faint light, Apis knelt in the hall of the temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and prayed for Poseidon's blessings. Behind him were three hundred equally devout officers of the Tenth Legion, centurions. They knelt behind Apis, listening attentively to Apis' prayers, and at the same time, longing for the blessing of the god of the sea.

Standing in front of Appis were eight Roman priests dressed in white robes and emaciated. Led by an old man with pale hair, holding a sharp dagger in his hand, began to cut the goats in front of him after Apis had finished praying to the idol. First, the familiar sword went down and slit the major artery between the goat's throat. Then, a large amount of blood gushed and dripped into the pre-prepared container.

This was the most important part of the ritual in ancient Rome, using the internal organs of animals to predict the luck of people who were about to travel far away, and whether they had the permission and blessing of the gods for their actions.

I saw that the chief priest of the Tanah Lot Temple skillfully stroked the dagger, and cut a shallow opening in the goat's abdomen, just enough to accommodate his arm to stretch out and take out the internal organs of the sacrifice.

Finally, under the pious gaze of the crowd, the sacrifice of Tanah Lot made a few cuts back and forth in the goat's belly, removing the bloody liver from the dead goat's belly. At the same time, everyone also cast their attention to it. In Rome at this time, this kind of divination was the only way they believed to be able to communicate with the gods.

Then, the chief priest held the piece of internal organs in the palm of his hand with both hands and observed it very "seriously" for a while. Then, in the eyes of everyone's concern, he swore that -

"The goat's liver is ruddy and shiny, which proves that the sky will be clear and the Roman legions will slay their enemies at their feet. Apis Gnaeus. Poseidon, the god of the sea, has given your go, and he will bless your legions and your good luck. ”

Finally, after a long and tedious ritual of sacrificial divination, the chief priest of Tanah Lot said words that lifted everyone. Then the three hundred officers and centurions of the Tenth Legion, who knelt behind Appis, shouted collectively and shouted the slogan of victory.

Appis, on the other hand, knelt calmly in place, looking up at the chief priest in front of him, and smiled slightly. Before the ceremony began, they had already made a deal, and Apis paid the priests for the sacrifice for three hundred dinars. In addition, after the sacrifice was completed, it was also made available to them. A position that seemed to have no real power was such a collection of money, and Apis knew that there were too many jobs and places in Rome where money could be collected.

"Brothers, Poseidon and Mars, the god of the sea, have given us permission for today's action. Go up to the docks, hoist the sails, and feed the oars-paddling slaves, from here we will set off for Spain to-day. To destroy the enemies who stand in our way. Caesar will win! ”

It was only at the end of the ceremony that Apis stood up unhurriedly, turned around, and shouted the order to march into Spain to a group of pious Roman officers behind him. Since the beginning of this civil war, the first expedition has also begun.

……

"Caesar?"

Antony and Apis' legions had left their respective places of departure for Spain to conquer Pompey and the Senate there, while Caesar in Rome was troubled by the financial and livelihood problems that followed. Carlos, the servant, brought the expenses of all kinds to Caesar's desk every day, and it was more troublesome to occupy an empty city than not to occupy it. Civilians have no jobs, soldiers have no wealth plundered by war, and these people need silver coins every day to feed them, otherwise there is a danger of riots and marches at any time.

"Take this proclamation, go to the villas of various nobles, and demand that they must give up one-third of their jobs to the commoners. The surplus slaves, pulled to the docks and the arena, were responsible for the maintenance and construction of the works there. ”

Carlos's report upset Caesar, and at the same time, Caesar, as the temporary mayor of the city, also had to issue new instructions to ensure that the civilians could have a basic salary to live, which he promised to the civilians before, and now, the legion has been in the city for a month, if he can't fulfill his promise, Caesar will lose even the support of the civilians, at that time, he really has nothing, there is no doubt that Caesar will not let this happen, so grit his teeth, and continue to spend money to maintain the stability of the status quo. And the civilians in tattered clothes, they don't care about your leader's troubles, as long as you promise them, you have to do it. This is the simplest understanding of ordinary civilians.

A week later, Rome's extensive foundations were hardly maintained and rebuilt, the walls of the arena were repaired to be more elaborate and smooth, the underground heating of the bathhouse was perfected, and the sewers were cleared. And these works were done by slaves provided by the nobility. Commoners were sent to work in the manors of the nobility in batches. The employment costs of the nobles had to be borne by Caesar. (To be continued.) )