"We dominated all the peoples on Shijie, and then we were dominated by our own wives." -- Grand Cato

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In Lucuras's tent, several confidential slaves were working on the list of slaves that Apis had freed, and the names were to be transcribed on a document for future checking. Luculas rested the scroll of Sulla's gift, Memoirs, on his lap, and he had no intention of reading them to-night, for the rumors had finally come true when an envoy from Rome had arrived: Pompey would soon land in Silesia with a new legion to take over his territory, his position, and his troops.

It is well known that in the heyday of Sulla, he and Pompey, that is, Sulla's right-hand man, the two young men competed with each other, but in his later years, Sulla gradually began to dislike the boastful, vain and snobbish Pompey, and began to be wary of his ambition and power-grabbing behavior, and handed over the responsibility of Togu to himself - but because of this, Lucuras and Pompey began to openly hostile each other. Then, at this moment, as long as Pompey landed on the shores of Minor, all his dreams and honors would be in the dust, and with the nature of Pompey, who was narrow-minded and liked to seize the merits of others, he would never give up any opportunity to trample and slander himself in the future.

"Even if I want to fight back, if I lose my legion, I will be nothing, at most I will be a rich man in the city of Rome." Lucuras flickered his hand into the clenched brow.

"Calabis." At that moment, one of the slaves called out the name, causing Luculas to froze slightly.

Hey, when was this Calabis also liberated as a free people? Wasn't he supposed to follow the Pontus princess named Adeina?

The next day, Calabis stood in front of the coach Luculas with Porti, "That's right, it seems that that Adiana will inevitably make Bendu uneasy in the future - but all this will not have much to do with me." By the way, dear Calabis, in two or three months I will depart for Little Asia and return to Rome. Now that Adiana is back in the enemy's camp, aren't you without a master? After listening to Calabis's account, Lucuras took a sip of a hot drink and asked.

"But I'm a freeman now. I would also like to follow you, Your Excellency, to Rome with Potti and find a place to stay. Calabis replied.

Luculas laughed and said, "Dear Calabis, you don't understand what I mean, you may not know that in the eyes of our Romans, even if the slave becomes a free people, the original master is still his protector, and he must serve, love, and follow the protector, which is the relationship between the Romans and the people. ”

"Your Excellency means that since Adiana is not here, she will automatically lose her qualification to be my protector, right?"

"Well, but you have to know that in the city of Rome, the free people who have no patron are miserable - I mean, you know?" Lucuras's tone became serious, and then Demetrius came up with a special refreshment herb, and Luculas said, "If you will, you and Demetrius, let me continue to be your patron." Demetrius, would you like to be a freedman like Calabis? ”

"No, master. I don't think there's anything good about a freedman, why should I be a freeman who has to fend for himself if I can serve by your side every day, without worrying about your salary, without worrying about your life? Once the freedmen had left the courtyard of their master's house, they had to sleep outside in cheap and dilapidated apartments, and in the winter they could not even afford to buy a warm coat. After Demetrius finished speaking, he gave Karabis two more glances at the steps, meaning that he should continue to be a slave in the alcove of Luculas.

However, Zuihou Calabis still pretended to ignore Demetrius's "advice", he recognized Lucuras as his patron, and vowed to leave the legion and return to Rome as a freeman, if he was still alone, he could serve Luculas as a niche slave, saving worry and effort, and no shortage of money. But he can now proudly declare that he has Porti, his woman, and that he must deliver to her a complete and independent family, no matter how shabby and cramped it may be.

On the other hand, the recognition of Luculas as his patron also meant some kind of ironclad pact - Calabis had to carry Lucuras in a chariot when necessary, and his offspring, if they had citizenship and the votes in their hands, must also have them fully support Lucuras's family political interests.

After the master-slave agreement was concluded, Calabis and Poti moved their tents out of the camp of the three companies and co-located with the craftsmen who accompanied the army.

Sometimes, after having sex with Potty, the two of them would lie on the soft mattress, cuddle together, touch the freedman nameplate around their necks, which was engraved with the words "Thank you to the master for giving freedom", and think about their freedman status, "What do you say, what will our future home look like?" ”

"Well, it would be nice to have a bread oven and then there would be three beds, one big and two smaller shakers. I hope that we will have two children, a boy, who preferably be physically able, and who will serve in the legion in the future; The other is a girl, we will love her, spoil her, and when she is an adult, marry her into a decent family. "It would be better for us to live in a spacious apartment, with cupboards and dining tables, and alcoves for the deity of the family, with silver cutlery and a small cage with pet pigeons, and we can feed our children, Calabis, on our own income." ”

"Yes, if the children are to receive a good education, will they get citizenship?" At this time, Calabis would fall into a little confusion, he could think that if he and Helenputina had a child, whether the child would be male or female, and how the Amazon tribe would treat their child, everything was unknown, and then he would let the warm Poti hug him tighter, because the other party was the only existing bond between himself and this cruel shijie.

Three days later, the senate envoys arrived, led by Triari, who rebuked Luculas for his "inaction" in Asia Minor, and officially announced that from now on, General Pompey would succeed him as a commander.