The magnificent city of Rome, Apis liked to climb the top of Palatine Hill in the evening, overlooking the huge and imposing city of Rome. It is almost endless, with a dense cluster of buildings in the central district, such as the Grand Theater, the Hippodrome, the Grand Bathhouse, and the Racecourse. In the later life, the magnificent scenes that can only be seen in movies are really displayed in front of their eyes at this moment.

For one moment, it was really emotional.

The tentacles of empire finally extend to the distant deserts and oases on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. Now, no matter what the outside world is talking about, the first thing Apis has to do is to establish the foundation of the Crusade. Ever since the defeat and murder of Crassus the Younger, Apis has been doing this almost every day – perfecting the Roman infrastructure in Asia Minor and Armenia.

The conquest of Parthia was not as easy as it sounded, nor could it be accomplished in a day or two. Parthia was so far from the capital of Rome that the ancient march had to be well fed with supplies and food. The principle that the soldiers and horses go first before the grain and grass are moved, Apis understands better than anyone else, and can also deeply understand it. As a result, large numbers of legions were sent to Asia Minor and Armenia to build a network of roads to the East.

Standard Roman military routes were built to connect the port cities of Asia Minor with the interior cities of Armenia. Grain depots and forts were built along the route to ensure the smooth passage of supplies and food between Asia Minor and Armenia.

The power of the policy has made the eastern shipping routes increasingly prosperous, and a large number of merchant ships call at ports such as Pergamon, Rhodes, and Sibique every day. Alexandria became even more important, bringing a steady stream of Egyptian grain to these ports in Asia Minor, and then through a network of plateau roads to Armenia and advancing to the front lines of Parthia.

It was not enough to build military routes and prosper the sea routes, so Apis ordered people to go to the East, especially the area where Armenia borders Parthia, to learn about the local customs, what the local people most urgently needed, and whether there was any dissatisfaction with the Parthian rulers. When the envoy understood the situation, he reported the situation to Apis and the cabinet. Apis and the think tank around him analyzed and worked out strategies and tactics. After all, wars, especially wars of conquest, are not resolved by military force, and whether the local population supports them or not, will they mutiny? These are all factors that need to be considered in war.

If the Parthian king had been kind to the local people, and the people's hearts had been inclined to the side of Orodes, then the war of conquest would have been very difficult. On the contrary, if the local population is living in misery, then the legion may even have the support of the local population.

There are also folk customs and religious beliefs, which also need to be considered. Conquest cannot be done by force of force, and if the local population is very averse to the Roman religion and there is a clash of cultures, then the conquest will not last long. As soon as the legions withdrew, mutinies and unrest would immediately break out in the area.

Of course, these ordinary Roman people did not care, they would only look at Apis with suspicion, and said that the conquest of Parthia was good, why was there no movement for a long time? As a result, there is one more problem at hand, that is, how to appease the people's hearts and reject the voices that interfere and question. If you want to be a Mingjun, there are too many things to deal with......

…………

To address this voice, Apis personally visited the high priest. And he talked with the kind old man for a morning, and when he came out, the high priest even hobbled Aphis to the door of the temple, until Appis politely asked the high priest to stay. No one knew the purpose of Appis's trip, only the new consul Levius, who accompanied Apis, knew that the purpose of Apis's trip was for the high priest to perform a heavy ritual of possession five days later, and the result of the expedition was that the legions could not march for the year, otherwise they would be cursed by the gods......

Five days later, in front of the temple of the main god Jupiter, no less than 5,000 Roman citizens, as well as senators and Roman nobles, gathered here not to discuss state affairs or to compete for any interests. They gathered here for one purpose, to witness and witness the ritual of the Roman high priest.

Under the cloudy sky, birdcages containing crows were secretly placed in the garden behind the temple, and servants in black cloaks hid in the shadows, waiting for someone to convey orders to them. And outside the ornate temple of Jupiter, there is a dense crowd of people who talk a lot. They gathered in the square and watched the High Priest Belvanus's every move.

I saw several priests of the priesthood carrying a newly slaughtered goat to the altar. After that, the high priest Belvanus prayed on the stage and asked the god of war Mars's will. At the beginning of the ceremony, the audience was solemn. For the people of Rome, it was an extremely solemn ceremony, and everyone bowed their heads reverently in reverence for the gods.

Apis knelt in front of the altar and asked the priests of the priesthood to smear fresh blood on his forehead, and then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the high priest Belvanus took a knife and began to cut the belly of the goat. After a skillful disembowelment, the high priest pulled out the goat's entrails—the liver and the spleen. Then, he held the soft viscera in both hands. The people stared intently at the blood-dripping guts. That would be the will of the god of war.

"It's bloody, but it's not fresh enough, with dark green guts. This indicates that this war will not be completely won. The Romans had to pay a heavy price. ”

The high priest Belvanus "translated" the result of the opposition. As soon as he finished speaking, from the courtyard behind the temple, there was a sound of crows chirping and flapping their wings. The black crows flew into the sky in twos and threes, hovering above the temple for a while, and then flew off into the distance.

The crowd erupted. They had been eagerly awaiting Rome's vengeance against Parthia, but now it seemed that the gods were not satisfied with such a war. And told the Romans about all the signs. If they force themselves to go to war, they will pay the price in blood.

"But ......"

While the crowd was talking, the high priest immediately changed his mind. Draw people's attention to him again.

"The color of the spleen is ruddy, which foreshadows that in the following year Rome will defeat his enemies."

Clad in white gauze, the high priest spoke in a hoarse voice with vicissitudes of life.

At this point, the crowd began to stir again, and then turned into cheers. The Parthian War was just one more year of waiting. A year later, the legions of the Romans would be victorious again...... The crowd began to cheer, and Appis, who was at the altar, closed his eyes and bowed reverently to show his obedience to the will of the gods.