"You don't have to go with us to Greece, Rabienus, I have a more important task to give you. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ”

On the rough Adriatic coast, with the cold winter winds constantly blowing against Pompey and his Senate delegation, Rabienus stood in front of Pompey and looked back at Pompey in amazement.

"What kind of task? Checkmate? ”

"Sextus has gone to Spain, and I think that Spain will not last long on his own, and I want you to go to Sicily now and take a boat from there to Spain, to help Sextus hold on to Spain. I'll be much more relieved that you're there. ”

Pompey turned around and said in a serious voice. The sea between Italy and Greece was rough and the sea breeze was blowing on Pompey's face, and his curly hair was blown and covered on his face, revealing the smell of vicissitudes.

Rabienus took the task with a heavy heart, and then asked-

"How long are we going to hold out? Checkmate? ”

"Half a year, or a year, of course, it is best to delay Caesar's army as much as possible."

Pompey returned in a commanding tone.

……

Rome, Central Italy.

While Pompey's army had crossed the Adriatic Sea and Rabienus was on his way to Spain with a small retinue, Caesar was in Rome in central Italy, and Caesar was bewildered by the ruined city. In essence, Caesar wanted to lead his legion to pursue Pompey as fast as possible, so as not to let his opponent have a buffer and time to prepare, because the longer the time drags on, the more Pompey's side will have advantages, he has strong financial resources and the support of the Senate, the nobles will be on his side, there will be a steady stream of troops to join his camp, and the Senate will be responsible for military spending. On Caesar's side, there were only civilians, and before Caesar entered the city of Rome, almost all the wealth that the entire city could take was taken away. The nobles who stayed were simply forced to stay because they had too much real estate in Rome to move out. Because for a short time, these people could not sell their mines, estates, and land, and they gave up these would be tantamount to giving up most of their possessions, so they had no choice but to stay in Rome. Otherwise, to flee would be to become a pauper...... At most, it bears the name of nobility.

"Caesar, three legions in Rome, the daily expenses are twelve thousand dinars, plus the attached legions, accompanying slaves, servants, ......"

"Alright, alright, Carlos, I know how much I need to be allocated to them, I will go to Aditya's house now, and in the evening, I will feast all the nobles of Rome, and you can take care of the military expenses."

In the mansion of Tibius in Rome, Caesar's personal servant was patiently and carefully reporting to his master the latest statistics on the legion's quartermasters, and Caesar interrupted Carlos with an impatient wave. Caesar was well aware of his current situation, and at the same time, he did not want to worry about it. There are still many things waiting for him to deal with, and military spending is only one part of it, although it is also a very important part.

"Yes, master."

After Carlos took the order, he shrugged helplessly and exited the hall.

Then Anthony came up and asked with a wicked smile—

"Tonight, you don't want to threaten a few nobles to get them to take out their property and support the legion? Support us? ”

"No, Anthony. On the contrary, tonight, I need to entertain these nobles who are willing to stay, and I will show my tolerance and goodwill by entertaining them warmly. Can't let all the nobles leave the city before we arrive, you understand? Anthony. We must make a promise to all the nobles of Rome that I, Gaius Caesar, will not take any of their possessions from this feast, and will not forcibly expropriate their lands and estates, or mines. Nor can they seize their wealth. Through this feast and my promise, I will let the other Roman nobles who have not yet evacuated the city know that I, Caesar, am not a tyrant, not a robber, and will not usurp their property. I'm going to keep them in the city. Antony, there are many more cities to conquer, Tarentus, Syracuse, Brentia, and there are still many nobles in these cities, and I hope that they will stay in the city honestly, and not like before, when my army arrives in the city, the whole city will be almost like a lair of beggars and vagabonds. ”

Faced with Anthony's question, Caesar sat in the soft chair and returned in a gloomy mood. He knew that the army's finances were about to turn negative, and the nobles could no longer leave the city, otherwise, he would fall into an extremely passive situation next. And with Pompey's character and combat experience, he will not easily start a war with himself, and will definitely take advantage of the strong financial resources in the rear to slowly drag himself down, which Caesar knows very well.

"Well, well, that sounds good, but I hope the cunning and weak nobles will understand your painstaking efforts."

Anthony bit down on the pear and replied flatly. Obviously, he did not approve of Caesar's behavior of treating the nobles so well and beating around the bush in order to win the hearts and minds of the people. Compared with Caesar, Antony's idea was very simple, the legion needed military expenses, and it was enough to kill a few rich nobles and confiscate their property. There is no need to set up such a banquet in such a complicated way, just like a homeless man who is already unable to protect himself, but he has to take care of the rich people around him who have no worries about food and clothing, which makes Anthony uncomfortable. However, out of loyalty to Caesar, Anthony did not say much, but just did everything.

"By the way, that Appis, what has he been up to lately? I haven't told him a mission for two weeks. ”

After arranging the banquet, handling military affairs, and municipal affairs. Lying in his chair tiredly, Caesar suddenly remembered Appis, who had just been promoted to captain of the legion. It seems like this person hasn't heard from him for a long time.

"Didn't do anything. He seems to be just going on as usual every day, training recruits, managing neighborhoods, and maintaining the safety and stability of those neighborhoods. In normal times, he mingled with the veterans and held various activities in the barracks, as if he had invented a sport called football, which made the veterans have a lot of fun. Otherwise, I haven't seen him behave in any unusual way. ”

Antony sat down at the table and reported on Caesar Appis's recent movements. And Caesar smiled a little satisfied. It seems that Appis has a higher place in his heart. (To be continued.) )