Caesar in front of the eagle banner, the armor of his whole body shone with golden light, he looked at Li Bida with certainty, and said: "You are the commander-in-chief of the siege army immediately, you have the final say, remember to give all you will get, just give it to the soldiers." ”

On the same day, Li Bida led his guards and subordinates in the direction of the city of Olicum, and after walking a section of the Egnatia Highway, he left the infantry brigade with his cavalry, and walked from the narrow valley of the river, and it took less than half a day to come to the siege position of this seaside town.

The Eighth and Twentieth Legions, which Anthony had sent from the city of Rishas, had already arrived, and then their respective commanders handed over copies of the duty lists of the soldiers and sentries to the tent of the chief lieutenant General Li Bida.

"Sabo, bring the sand table." Li Bida hurriedly drank a few sips of water, and then got busy, and all the senior centurions and tribunions immediately surrounded him, and the long-term career of fighting horses made them all understand the style of this general: once they entered the link of the general attack, they would not be so dragging their words, and they would directly clarify the task, and then they would supervise the battle.

"There is nothing difficult about my tactics this time, for the Olicums were still there before the arrival of General Antony's legions, and they repeatedly sent out cavalry to inflict harm on our soldiers and slaves, and their Council of Elders repeatedly threatened to be the strongest and last bulwark in all of Epirus, and that they would be the heroes of the re-establishment of the Republic. Today we will crush their vanity, break their backbones, trample under their feet, destroy their cities, take captives and confiscate their ships, and sell all men and women into slavery. My plan is that a legion is in charge of the city side. No matter what is important. Onslaught without stopping. That's why I suggest that all commanders and centurions should be good at separating the teams and doing the work of connecting the teams in turns, which is a job that seems easy but is very troublesome to implement, so it's hard work. His Excellency Dictor has also promised us that when the city is broken, all the spoils will not have to be handed over to the treasurer! Li Bida made a generous statement, and the meaning was obvious, that is, to use this to stimulate the enthusiasm of all people.

Just after Li Bida finished arranging. Several nobles from the city of Olicum came to the camp in despair, begging Li Bida to give them the treatment of surrender, and begged bitterly that they had also handed over thirty hostages to Li Bida before, which actually showed that they could not help themselves in the battle between Pompey and Caesar, and they also tentatively asked: "May I ask whether Your Excellency the General has punished these thirty noble hostages?" ”

"No, I still receive and protect them in the camp according to aristocratic standards, even in the most difficult moments." Li Bida's answer made these envoys feel that there was still hope for surrendering peacefully and preserving the city. So tears flowed down his eyes, grateful to Li Bida for his magnanimity. and begged him to be able to show the heart of a good man at this time.

As a result, Li Bida sneered, and he asked the messenger, "Just before the situation changed, didn't your town still swear to follow in Pompey's footsteps?" Their legions have long since withdrawn, and you have plenty of time to spare, but during this period your towns have shown no sincerity, no surrender, and many attacks on our lone soldiers, using cruel means, and now rely on these lies to win the sympathy of the army! Now, then, I sue you now, the inevitable end of your town, which is the destruction of miè! ”

When the whole word "ruined" was uttered, all the messengers of the city of Olicum trembled, and they wailed and wept, and expressed their willingness to hand over all the wealth in the storehouse of the city's temple, a total of one hundred and fifty tarents of gold and silver, and three hundred tarents, which must be paid off within ten years, but Li Bida was not moved in the slightest, "Is this gold and silver not mine at once, why bother with you?" ”

In the end, the negotiations were not successful at all, and the day after the expulsion of the messengers, the general attack of all the legions on Olikum began without delay!

This war was also the best opportunity for Li Bida to ask Pop in advance, and the improved "Samontoga" organ cannon was solid - six doors, each with thirty-two chutes, arranged up and down, dense like a beehive-like "new Samontoga", with the friction of fire and air, spit out a real cork rocket like raindrops, and the irritating gunpowder smoke filled the entire launch position, so that the soldiers waiting for the battle behind covered their faces with cloths, but they still had tears and snot flowing down their noses.

The rain of fire burned down half of the city of Olicum, and the merchant ships and fishing boats in the harbor, the dock boardwalks, and the arcades on the streets were all burned wildly. Then, two "Marcelian noblewoman cannons", and four wild donkey stone throwers, also covered with iron wooden poles and stone bullets, were concentrated on the weakest wall of Olikum, and then the legions on all sides formed a shield formation, pushing siege rams, rolling wooden towers and harp ladders, climbing and attacking from all directions like ants, the inhabitants of Olikum were originally not many people who had joined the army, and on the one hand, they had to take care of their family business in the fire, and there was no way to organize the defense work. So the real attack, to the final fall of the city, is only half a day.

Slave markets and auction markets were soon erected under the city, and the traffickers from Illyria and Italy, like swarms of flies that had found carrion, said, "Whoever will allow you to take the nameplate of the previous national debt and recharge it, go back!" "Several centurions beat the financial slaves with woven tubes and pottery urns, most of whom were the domestic slaves of the Roman senators, who tried to cash the national debt, but were so angry and beaten.

As for the original wealth of the city, all of it was looted, and after it was converted by Li Bida, one part was sent to the city of Bugarotum, and the rest was rewarded on the spot, and then Li Bida promised all the soldiers: "Go to Sesaria at once, there is a greater chance of making a fortune, and it is better to use half of this money in three days, and give the rest to the treasury of the soldiers' council for safekeeping." "These big-headed soldiers, there is really no concept of savings, all the booty on weekdays is packed in personal luggage (now there is a soldiers' committee, it is much better, at least when the army is discharged, you can also save a lot of money for the placement of money), when the camp is open to the open day, they squander on women, gambling and alcohol, this time is no exception, Li Bida declared Olikum to be a borderless city - many of the surrounding outcasts, prostitutes and adventurers, came to do business, and then settled here.

"You should thank the goddess of fate, who was previously an unfortunate hostage, so that she was always by my side and avoided misfortune. Now you thirty will at once become members of the Presbyterian Church of Olicum, and your countrymen and nobles will be free to redeem them if they have the means. Before leaving for Thesalia, Li Bida summoned the original thirty hostages and demanded this from them. (To be continued......)