"Atticus, my dear friend, thank the gods that you have finally come to Rome! I have a lot of things to discuss with you. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

In the Villa Cicero, located on the hill of Esquiri in Rome, Cicero was undoubtedly overjoyed by the arrival of his close friend Atticus, surrounded by apolitically ill laity, including his own wife. Lost him. And now, Atticus, who came from afar, is undoubtedly like a carbon giver in the snow, which Cicero cherishes.

He invited Atticus into the house, and then served him with a good warm wine, and asked the servant to bake some venison and some honey bread in the kitchen, and then sat down in the warm room, and talked eagerly with Atticus.

"Apis stepped into Octavian's carefully laid trap and was thwarted in the Spanish War, and Marseille was lost. I'm sure you've heard about it. ”

As soon as Cicero sat down, he couldn't bear it, and anxiously told about the current situation in Rome. Atticus, on the other side, sat there very calmly, smiling as Cicero finished speaking. The two are almost the same age, but their personalities are very different. Cicero is more like an insecure child, he is like a lonely boat adrift in the sea, desperately looking for a backer to rely on. At first, he was a staunch republican, following Pompey, and then the civil war broke out, and seeing that the situation was in Caesar's favor, he took refuge in Caesar, and finally allied with Apis.

Now that Appis is in a precarious situation, Cicero is starting to get nervous again, wondering if the terrorist threat like Anthony's will still exist. The more Octavian refused to entertain him, the more panicked he became. Atticus, on the other hand, is completely different.

A businessman, or more precisely a financier, relying on the assets left by his ancestors to lend money and find investment opportunities, Atticus had a more calm and reserved personality than Cicero. He hardly appears in public, neither republicans nor people on either side, during the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, Atticus had contact with the people on Caesar's side, and did not offend the people on Pompey's side, you know, political fights need money, those politicians in Rome often need money to do things over the years, as a rich businessman, Atticus, a financial magnate, used his wealth to facilitate these things, so people on both sides wanted to win him over, but they could not get his full allegiance. is one of the few people who knows how to protect themselves in troubled times. Cicero traveled to Athens as a young man and met Atticus, and the two became lifelong friends. However, decades passed, and Cicero was embroiled in endless infighting and strife in Rome, while Atticus was breezy and cuminous.

"I heard, and I also heard that Tertila, the wife of Appis, was also brought to Rome by Octavian."

Atticus took off his thick cloak and sat on a chaise longue as he listened to Cicero, and then asked calmly.

"Yes, under house arrest in the home of her mother, Seville. Although Octavian sent precious ingredients and imported goods every day, they were in fact prisoner carts decorated with gold and jewels. ”

Cicero was indignant.

"Yes, so what are you going to do now?"

Atticus asked tentatively. His face was so calm, there was no expression, only the old folds of his skin, which made people feel a trace of calm and quiet.

"I don't know, my wife persuaded me to go to Octavian for a showdown and go to Octavian to save myself, but I felt very shameful about that. However, now I am very confused, if I do not express my position, in this situation, Octavian is bound to achieve the final victory, at that time, will he inherit the qualities of Caesar, treat the opposition well, or mercilessly slaughter his political enemies? I'm not sure about that. ”

Cicero put it very bluntly, in front of his closest friends, he did not need to hide his weakness and timidity. Because Atticus knew that.

"So, your wife advised you to change your position again and join Octavian? And, are you shaken yourself? ”

Atticus continued to ask.

"That's probably what it means."

Cicero's anxious emotions gradually calmed down, perhaps it was his friend's words that poked at his sore spots, poked at his fragile and sensitive nerves. Cicero was a little embarrassed.

"Cicero, there's one thing you may not know right now, but I heard about it on the way here. Your ally Apis was not defeated like this, in fact, he had already begun to fight back, and, in a surprising way, to do so. I'll take you to the streets of Rome to find out that Apis's new Agrarian Law in the north is a weakness of Octavian. Now, countless civilians had fallen to Appis's side, and Octavian had to fabricate evidence to make another northern expedition with military superiority. Cicero, my old friend, you are now like a gorse in a cage, the once extensive network of information is now clogged, and all the information you know is probably filtered by Octavian's men and then reached your ears. ”

Atticus sat across from Cicero and spoke calmly. And these words came as a surprise to Cicero.

"The Farmland Law? That's a forbidden word! For a hundred years after Gracchus was killed, no one spoke of this law again. Even Julius Caesar only complied with the wishes of some soldiers and reintroduced this reform. How dare Appis reintroduce the bill at such a sensitive moment? ”

Cicero was almost up from his chair, his eyes widening. Emotionally unsettled.

"Yes, so Appis was astonishingly bold, and, as I have a general understanding of the new Agrarian Law, this reform is very reasonable, even in the interests of all parties, with the nobility and the commoners taking what they want. Moreover, it was only in Gaul and Britain that there was soil for implementation. Appis not only promoted the development of his own territory, but also slapped Octavian in the face. Forced Octavian to take the initiative to go to war. Of course, the war is expected to wait until next year, and winter is coming soon. ”

Atticus spoke eloquently.

"Alas, I should have been lucky that you had arrived, it was too timely. I almost stepped into the mud again. ”

Cicero said, sweat dripping from his face.

"My old friend, for the sake of our many years of acquaintance, I must remind you as a brother. You should not abandon your position. Even if it's not Api fighting back this time, you shouldn't betray your allies again. It is true that we do not see the final winner in the war, but you have changed your position many times. And every time you change your position, it is actually a trampling on your personal dignity. The most disgusting and hated thing by the Romans was betrayal. You forgot why Anthony hunted you before. It's because you are swaying left and right on the political * political position, which makes him angry. Octavian also kept you for a purpose, and now apparently out that you are nothing more than a pawn of him to pass false information to Appis. Alas, Cicero, my old friend, in fact it doesn't matter much more to you now which side you turn to, and an alliance with Appis can be regarded as keeping the last vestiges of your reputation. Today's situation is actually your own fault, isn't it? ”

Atticus paused, picked up his glass, took a sip of the lukewarm drink, and continued:

"I told you to stop getting involved in politics, but you just didn't listen to you, saying that you want to realize your ambitions and ideals. So now, you see, this is Rome, this is Roman politics. Ideals and beliefs, philosophy and spirituality, worthless, some are just bloody slaughter, money in exchange for power, and power dominates money, all speech is just driven by interests, and as long as you step into it, you can no longer retreat. You could have lived a comfortable life like I did. ”

Atticus sighed.