"General, where are you going?"

On the night of the autumn wind, when Apis caught up with Rabienus, the old Roman general was sitting alone under a tree, wrapped in a furry cloak, looking at the autumn wind. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Info Rabienus was a little surprised by Appis's arrival, he didn't expect anyone to notice his departure.

"Rome. Accession to the Republic. ”

Rabienus looked at Appis without a hint of pretense or trepidation in his eyes, he was the captain of the Roman legions and a loyal defender of the Republic. Returning to Rome was such a fitting thing for him. As for Appis, Labiaenus has an indissoluble relationship, in fact, Apis can see that the old general has little defense against himself.

"I guessed it."

Hearing Rabienus' candid and direct answer, Apis suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Caesar failed to convince him to stay, and he knew the reason why he noticed his recent movements. Finally, before Caesar was ready to go out to the army, Appis discovered the departure of Rabienus.

"You're coming alone? Appis? You didn't come with Caesar's guards? Now that you've found me, why don't you bring the guards to arrest me? ”

Rabienus looked at Appis dismounting so calmly, and there was no one behind him, and he suddenly became puzzled. However, his doubts, Apis quickly answered for him-

"General, Caesar didn't know. I'm here alone. I'm here to see you off. ”

Appis said, wrapping up the Octavian cloak that Attia had given him, and sat down in front of Rabienus. Like Caesar, during the four years that Apis came to the Legion, apart from Kota, it was the old general who valued him the most. It can be said that, out of personal feelings, Apis still wanted to persuade Rabienus to join Caesar, because if the development of history is not unexpected, the old general will not have too good results after he defects to Pompey. But there were many things that Appis could not say, so he could only sit down silently and say his final goodbye to Labienus. Or after tonight, he and he will be strangers, enemies, and opponents. There was an indescribable sorrow that spread in Appis's heart.

"Well, now that you know everything, which side are you on? Caesar? You're still on Caesar's side, aren't you? ”

Rabienus is very direct, maybe the soldiers don't need to hide at such a moment, this is not the insidious behavior of those deceitful people in the Roman political arena, two comrades-in-arms who have been together on the battlefield with blood, there is no need to cover up too much at this moment, everyone knows in their hearts, the topic of farewell tonight.

"Yes, General. But I still respect you, you are a great Roman general, and the Tenth Legion under your leadership has defeated countless barbarian tribes. ”

"However, I chose to leave it anyway."

Rabbi Enus replied lightly, and Apis guessed that before he made this decision, he had already done a fierce psychological struggle, and finally left Caesar and abandoned the Tenth Legion, which was also a painful decision made after many sleepless nights of wandering and insomnia.

"General. Have you ever wondered if maybe Rome really needs to change? Perhaps Caesar was right when he said that we can no longer expect a government that elects and replaces every year to rule an entire republic? Rome's territory is now too large. Isn't it? ”

Appis sat down and roasted a small fire with Rabienus, trying to make a final persuasion. After all, in the future, it will be an extremely painful thing for former partners and comrades-in-arms to face each other with swords. Especially after experiencing the friendship of life and death in the legion.

"Appis, when did you become involved in this political conspiracy? Tell me, what is your justification for supporting Caesar in starting a civil war? The republic is sacrosanct, you know, our republic was born out of the fear of tyrants, so, in this country, the law says that in Rome, no power can be higher than the parliament, higher than the senate, even the power of the consuls must be restrained, so there is an annual election. Caesar was the conqueror of Gaul, he was a hero, and I used to fight for him in the Senate, believing that he deserved his due treatment, personal safety, and innumerable honors and wealth. But that doesn't mean I'm in favor of him starting a civil war. In the process, countless Romans will die. ”

Rabbi Enus said indignantly. Like Appis, Rabienus tried to persuade Appis to join him, return to the Senate, and join Pompey.

"General, when I was in Rome, I had an argument with Cato on this subject, and now I must say again, in fact, our republic has evolved to the point where it is no longer the holy and pure republic it once was. The Senate actually represented only the interests of the aristocratic class, and the plebeians had no right to speak at all, and although the Republic had tribunes, how short was his term? Only a short year! During this year, nothing of substance could be accomplished, and at the end of the term of office could not be re-elected to the tribune, either to be promoted to the senate and to other official positions in Rome, or to leave office and continue to serve as a commoner. Under such a system, although there is a position of civil protection officer, there are few people who can truly seek benefits for the common people. In the past 100 years, there has been a Gracchus, however, his fate is so tragic. Caesar may be right, the Roman Republic may have decayed, his power, his wealth in the hands of a few greedy nobles, and they are still demanding, arguing, fighting for their own interests, every big and small. Is this the republic we once expected? Is it the republic that we shed blood and tears to protect? ”

Appis replied with grief and indignation to Rabbi Enus, his former superior. Rabienus fell silent. The flames of the fire were constantly blown by the cold wind at night, and it seemed that they were in danger of being extinguished at any time. It took a long time for Rabienus to come back to his senses and say—

"A long time ago, I thought Caesar was my best friend, partner. I was so sincere with him, we exchanged our secrets, we fought together, we drank the worst wine together, we ate bread mixed with sand, and yet I did not expect that he would be the one who would start a civil war in the end. The system of the Roman Senate may need to be reformed, but not by waging war. ”

Hearing Rabbi Enus's last words, Apis was a little helpless, a person's concept is so difficult to change, and people in this era may have their deep-rooted ideological traditions. So Caesar was also destined not to be understood. (To be continued.) )