"All the young people who are happy are knights on horseback." -- Ezekiel

On the high ground by the harbor of Stola, a group of Roman generals and lieutenants held all kinds of glorious flags and scepters, and surrounded Pompey in a wide purple robe, the great Pompey, a lock of curly hair on his forehead dangled in the wind, and a group of sailing ships appeared on the edge of the sea and sky, "Ladies and gentlemen, I hope that this general and princess of Pontus who have come to surrender can bring us Mithridatians. The news that Ubert is still alive. ”

"The legion that Crassus and Luculas commanded was besieged on the Acropolis by Mithridates before, and I don't know if it has been destroyed." Next to Pompey, Demetrius of Galilee looked at his white fingers and said nonchalantly, "Your Excellency, the king of Petra has been subdued, and we should now be able to tie the laurel leaf ring to the emblem of the legion, and as soon as our mighty fleet appears in the Cimmerian Sea in three days' time, everything will be settled, and you will enjoy the second great triumph." ”

"Also, the wealth of the six thousand Talents of the Emperor of Pontus. With this money, I will not have to face those pesky fellows in the Senate, and before returning to Rome, I will directly integrate most of it into the legion fund as a reward for the soldiers and the purchase of resettlement places for discharge, and from then on my position will not move, you know, with a bunch of centurions and soldiers who are ready to be dissatisfied with the salary, it is a chore for me, and the tuna road Curas does not know how to deal with it, so he is finished. ”

Demitrius smiled like a flower, "Your Excellency, rest assured, I have already taken care of the details. ”

Pompey nodded with satisfaction and said, "I've been too focused on the military formation. Representations of the kingdoms and free cities of Asia Minor. It should be annoying to you, right? ”

"It's ok. It's much easier than dealing with all sorts of relationships in the city of Rome. This answer from the Galilean Jews made Pompey laugh happily. By this time the ship from the opposite side had come ashore, and the general and the princess had come ashore in a small boat, with haggard and humble faces, and they approached the greatest general of Rome, accompanied by the hundred-up of the legion, "in the most concise language." Tell me about the current situation in the city of Pontica Byang. "This is what Pompey asked of Menander.

"My Bronze Shield Army has all lost, great General Triumph, and this is the most fundamental reason why I have come to surrender to you. I was defeated by the mutinous Acayans and the advance party of the Thirteenth Legion. Minander did not shy away from his failures.

"You have a division of the Bronze Shield Army, and you will be defeated by the advance team in the city of Rome that has just been promoted to a legion, my God, I don't know whether to be proud or sad. But I'm more concerned about Mithridates. What about Ubert? Pompey continued.

"General, he won't last long, he's got serious trauma. He was already in his last years, and all his sons were dead. Now his arsenal has also been transported in the ship by Stratonis, respectfully contributing in front of you! Sooner or later, he would die in a mutiny or in the wounds, or, as a king would custom, commit suicide with a sword. After Menander finished speaking, Stratonis stepped forward and handed a bunch of keys to Pompey, and the triumphant general graciously thanked the two men, but he added: "You two have made a wise choice, but I still hope to explain to the Senate that these things are the spoils of my legion." ”

As he spoke, the treads of the ship were lowered, and groups of strong sailors and slaves carried the heavy boxes in the cabin to the open space on the shore, and Demetrius took the key from Pompey's hand, and went down to open the boxes one by one, and under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he lifted the sealed iron jars in the first box high and smashed them on the ground, and in the crisp cracking sound - the yellow gold, and the white silver, rolled in front of all the generals and soldiers of the legion, and everyone struck their shields with their swords, and let out a great cheer.

"By the way, what are you two interested in, Sinop, Ponti Kabiang, or the governor of the entire Bosphorus kingdom?" Pompey, who saw this scene, asked Minander and Stratonis cordially and generously.

In the cheering, Demetrius also felt great pleasure, and in order to increase his excitement, he picked up another jar in the third or fourth box, and smashed it again at his feet, which was greeted not by more enthusiastic cheers, but by the amazement of the whole body: Demetrius's eyes looked down, and sweat seeped out of the bridge of his nose and the man, and out of this jar came only a mess of iron, copper, and stones.

All the generals around Pompey, including Murilla and Sekedilius, who had followed the tuna in the past, all lost their necks, and the whole scene was very funny, Pompey's smile when he saw this scene, and the lock of curls on his forehead stiffened again, and then his eyes turned to the stunned Menander and Stratonis, "I think you two owe me a reasonable explanation for this." ”

"Your Excellency, I count it every day, maybe this is the only one can!" Stratonis's voice was soothing.

"Honorable woman, do you think it is more in line with Ubert to stuff a jar of iron into a hundred jars of gold and silver, or to stuff a jar of gold and silver into a hundred jars of iron!? It's hard to imagine that you are still his pillow person, we are all deceived by him. Pompey's tone calmed down at the moment, "But I haven't lost yet, we have to be fast, and the gang behind the Thirteenth Legion should also act." ”

In the city of Ponticabion, all the soldiers in the barracks are swords-raised, rushing through the streets, lighting fires, looting, and those new model centurions who have previously served as officers in the Roman legions have a great ability to incite soldiers to rebel, "Mithridates will take the taxes of the city, and will drive us along Dacia and Thrace to invade Italy, maybe the other Greeks can deceive you, but I am from Pompey's troops, and I can't deceive you. Mithridates had mobilized an army of 160,000 troops, but had been wiped out by the Romans in Greece and Asia Minor, and it was a wild dream to attack the city of Rome now. I entered the new model army in Pontus, but for a good salary, I believe everyone is the same, there is no need to die here, since the king of Pontus put so much gold and silver in the vault of the Bronze Shield Army, and now that the Bronze Shield Army has also collapsed, we can only claim our share in a tough way! ”

At this time, from the palace of Mithridates came some tax collectors and eunuchs with round hats, and they wept and trembled, but as soon as they came out, they were surrounded by angry soldiers, and seized them, and asked them in a loud voice what they wanted.

"The emperor has two daughters, married to the kings of Parthia and Cyprus, and Otpeli, who is still the wife of the king of Armenia, and we are responsible for calling for reinforcements." The eunuch explained without possession. (To be continued......)