Chapter 23: The Blood Feast (Part II)
The pharaoh carried the alabaster cup, and frequently urged the guests to drink, but the main concern of all was whether they could get out of the royal city alive, and after a while, Hebrida led a group of soldiers into the hall, and in their hands still held a leather box containing the manuscripts, and several scribes immediately came up, took the manuscripts, flipped through them, and re-scraped some of the more important ones with ivory, and knelt down to present them to the pharaoh.
Ptolemy XII put down his glass, glanced at the papyrus with a majestic gaze, and before long slammed his fist on the table, and all the magnates present trembled at the voice.
There was silence, only the angry voice of the pharaoh echoed, "What is the origin of Derehe?" What am I to a melanx who is a sheep herder in Upper Macedonia, who served as an officer in the Hormashi Legion by his uncle, and who came to my court as a guard at the age of thirteen? I would not let him be contaminated with the sordid of his labor, let him become a noble warrior, and later entrusted him with the western frontier of Egypt, but who would have thought that he would repay me like this! He betrayed my son on paper and cursed me before the gods! Even if he dies, he will no longer be my royal friend, and I will immediately completely forfeit all his property and imprison the country! ”
Li Bida next to him immediately took out the account book and handed it to the pharaoh, the hall was immediately filled with wails and angry reprimands, the pharaoh looked at the names on the account books, his hands were trembling, "Two-thirds of the magnates in our kingdom are playing ghosts, today is no longer your meal for the Obit Festival, but my crocodile for enjoyment!" With that, Pharaoh screamed twice in rage, slammed the ledger on the steps at his feet, and then left the feast, escorted by several dead soldiers. Transferred to the apse.
Slaves, dancers, and musicians also fled through the side door. The whole hall is about to rain.
Li Bida stood in the center of the throne. Then he made an execution gesture to the centurions and soldiers around him with a blank face. The next two columns of Roman soldiers immediately formed a shield wall on the steps and covered the commander-in-chief.
"Who wants to die!" Several of the somewhat errant magnates cried out, jumped over the pillars, and prepared to flee towards the palace gates, only to have already rushed out of the towers with hundreds of black Nubian soldiers, facing the columns. Waves of arrows were fired, and the men were covered in arrows, screaming and rolling on the steps, and more and more people began to run around helplessly and desperately, and there were flying arrows everywhere, dexterously like moths in the fire, and soon the lampposts were also knocked over, igniting the wine and carpets, and the flames came out everywhere, and the corpses slowly piled up all over the hall. The crocodile pond is full of brutes with "copperheads, iron armor". Particularly excited after smelling the smell of wine and blood, the tail flicks various tracks. Some of them could not stand the fire and arrows, so they climbed over the iron fence, only to be bitten by the crocodile's mouth, and the flesh was torn and dragged into the pool, where it quickly turned into a delicacy in their bellies.
The slaughter was over after two nights, and when the shield wall was lifted, the Roman soldiers descended the steps and kicked the hideous-looking corpses in various positions that had piled up at their feet, stabbing to death the dying, still bleeding and groaning, crawling, "all settled, four hundred and thirty-three corpses." After a long time, Hebrida wiped the sweat from the corners of her mouth and came up to report to Li Bida.
"It doesn't matter, Pharaoh will soon promote a new group of loyal 'royal friends' from among the scribes and petty officers to help govern Egypt, and these more than 400 moths will now do the country no more than corruption and corruption." Li Bida then snapped his fingers lightly, and a treasurer named Charina stepped forward, "You have a great talent for writing and governance, and the chores of the deceased's property will be handed over to you, don't forget to hand over one-third of the proceeds to my legion as compensation according to the agreement." Also, after the market day, when the situation in Alexandra and Lower Egypt has stabilized, you will preside over the Herbside Day (a temporary amnesty celebration) for His Majesty Pharaoh, and after doing this, you will be the new and most important royal friend. ”
Charlena, who was in his thirties, immediately bowed to Li Bida and thanked him, and then rushed to the palace library with a few scribes.
Three days later, not long after the blood feast in the court was over, the scribes' ranks began to confiscate all the property of the magnates, and Lypida's army began to attack the Jewish quarter of Alexandro, depriving all the Jews of only a few food and clothing, and forcing them and their families to board ships and "expel them to Cyrenaica, or to the region of Cussi!" But his methods were merciful, except to confiscate their houses and take seventy percent of their family wealth, most of which went to the legion's treasury and some to Pharaoh's treasury.
The Eubernian Chamber of Commerce, shortly thereafter, came to Alexandro by ship, bringing with them nearly a thousand merchants, who, in the Great Temple of Judaism, left behind by the expelled heretics (not of a sect), were busy with each other, indifferently and passionately discussing the construction of warehouses, shops, and wharves in the "New Jewish Quarter," and that there was nothing to worry about as for the convoy—Lypida had already transferred all the fleets he had put together to the Eubertenian Chamber of Commerce.
In the Hormahi barracks, Kashiyo sat opposite Li Bida's table, and the two of them sometimes spoke ill of each other, sometimes spread their hands and compromised, discussing the matter of sharing the spoils, "There are too many accounts that have passed through the treasury of the legion now, and if we stick to the previous three-component accounts, we will suffer a lot!" That's what Cassiyo demanded.
"How can some books be cleared? I'm not as stupid as little Cato, and I would love to put half of Astra in the Saturnalia of the Republic. Li Bida was-for-tat.
Then the two continued to enter the mode of vicious words, and Sabo, who was sitting next to him, took notes as usual, "Alright, alright! Don't be too noisy with me, two thousand Tallants, pay them all at once, take them with you, go back to Rome, and ask Cato the Younger to take credit! Li Bida shouted and reported his bottom line.
"We have calculated that you owe a thousand Tallents." Kasi did not give up an inch of land.
At this time, Saab Chemus thought of something, so he fell on Li Pida's ear and said a few words, and the commander-in-chief nodded, and promised to add three thousand talents, but on the condition that Tri Ali and a quarter of the fleet would be left in Alexandria, "Why, this condition is very good." Just say a word, and then it's just a matter of formalities between the two satraps of Gabinus and Caesar. ”
"Do you want to form a new fleet, Caesar has privately allocated the Thirteenth Legion outside the framework of the Republic, and the Thirteenth Legion has privately allocated the Serapis Legion, and you are in the middle, Your Excellency Liberidaus, you are not satisfied now, and you actually want to build a fleet? But don't you think Tri Ali is just a piece of waste that doesn't do enough, I personally think Maximus is good. Cassiyo completely saw through Li Bida's calculations. (To be continued......)