But the first to appear on the shores of Alexandra in April was Scipio, who had escaped from the mountains of Asimanius, and the general had shamefully and decisively abandoned his men, and with a dozen senators and about fifty tarantes, he galloped all the way to Silesia, but he could not stay here, because the councils of the capital of Tarsus, and Antioch, the neighboring province of Syria, decided that the whole city would fall to Caesar, so Scipio had to scatter all his money and recruit some exiled slaves and green forest bandits. Assembled a team of more than 500 men, with eight ships, evaded the patrols of the enemy from all sides, and miraculously sailed to Pharos Island, where the Alexandria Lighthouse is located.

Here, Gabinus and Marcellus were already one step ahead, and the two men who had also arrived with hundreds of armed slaves, as well as the Pompey veterans stationed on Pharos Island, about 300 people, also supported the two former consuls, and finally Scipio joined these two fellow refugees and was elected supreme commander in charge of Pompey's henchmen in Egypt.

Long before the outbreak of the Roman Civil War, the kingdom of Egypt was already in a fragmented situation, and under the control of Li Pida, the new "Hormahi" Praetorian Guard of the Pipers were all under the command of the remaining non-commissioned officers of Li Bida's expeditionary force, and the soldiers were Galatians and pirates from Asia Minor, who only obeyed the orders of Li Pida and Cleopatra, and the river transport guards and tomb guards in the upper reaches of the Nile, as well as many treasurers, were also close to Cleopatra; But then the younger Ptolemy, who returned to the city of Alexandria, that is, the younger brother of Cleopatra, with the support of the great eunuch Motammenes, also began to secretly train a group of dead cronies. It's called the "Gorta Corps". "Goreta" is a triangle. Referring to the Nile Delta, ready to attack at any time, kill his sister and monopolize In addition, Pompey also tried every means to ask his cronies Gabinus to infiltrate power into Egypt, so he also sent veterans to Pharos Island, apparently to serve as a military adviser to the Kingdom of Egypt. In fact, it was the Pompeo party that fought for Egypt.

In this way, the entire kingdom of Egypt has always been in the undercurrent whirlpool of competition between the three forces.

Now, although Scipio had consuls, senators, and an armed force of about 1,000 men, and occupied the island of Pharos, which was only a short distance away from Alexandria (a breakwater), Egypt still had two legions, "Hormahi" and "Gorta ", even if they were in the same position, but in the event of a foreigner. Surely they will still be united, and Scipio's chances of victory against each other are slim. For the citizens of Alexandra will not support their side. Therefore, Scipio adopted a cautious diplomatic strategy, and he constantly sent envoys to persuade and coerce the "Piper", saying, "His Excellency Pompey was kind to you in the past, and without his approval you have no hope of recovering your country, so it seems that in such a close friendship you should provide garrisons and supplies for our army, and mobilize your army to fight Caesar." ”

The piper was a man of no opinion, and he was ready to bring in the Romans, but he was met with fierce opposition from his subordinate officers, and the rare dissupport of his father's ideas by the two siblings of Cleopatra and Ptolemy, made the piper feel very distressed, and in addition to his poor health, he suddenly fell ill with scurvy and fell ill.

Now in the palace of Alexandria, full of gloom and misery and intrigues, Pharaoh was tormented by illness on his sickbed like a limestone wall that was about to crack and collapse, but the attendants and Scipio's envoys still refused to let him go, and went around his bed, the former asking him to raise an army to kill Scipio, while the latter demanded that he fulfill his will and give the kingdom to Pompey after his death, and now Caesar's envoys also came, and also threatened him.

"I only want to see my dear friend Libidaeus, who will save me from this boundless quagmire." Pharaoh was angry and repeated the phrase over and over again.

At this time, Theotusus, the chief of the palace guard, asked the priests to put the ship, the god of the underworld, and various animal models on the bench in front of the bed, and placed a screen behind the pharaoh's head to separate the inside and outside, and expelled all the idle outsiders, etc., and then he and a group of guards knelt before the pharaoh, and asked the pharaoh to sober up from the confusion of foreign affairs, and it was most urgent to arrange the succession of the kingdom first. "O my most loyal subordinate, Theotusus, it is my determination to arrange the marriage of the Cleopatra siblings before my death, according to the tradition of the Ptolemaic royal family, and to marry them as co-rulers of the kingdom of Egypt, and then"

"Then hand over the contents of His Majesty's will to the two heirs of His Majesty to settle it?" Diotusus finally understood Pharaoh's thoughts, and the piper was a pathetic character who was indecisive until his death.

Pharaoh nodded heavily, and then the high fever brought him into a dying state, and Diotusus immediately got up with his saber in hand, and led Pharaoh's guards to the cloister of the palace, where the great eunuch Motammenes was hiding in the shadow of the pillar with a cloudy and uncertain countenance, and the heavy eyeshadow and eyeliner on the eunuch's face made his expression even more rigid and unfathomable.

"The key to the palace gate and the command of the gate control soldiers are now in my hands." Theotusus spoke in a deep voice, and then he looked around warily, handed over the impression of the key to the eunuch, and said with a look of doubt, "Is this really possible?" Ascend the throne to the throne with the son of Pharaoh, a supporter of the Gorta Legion, and then expel and kill his sister? ”

"No, not only the future pharaoh's sister, but also the Roman fugitives who took over Pharos." "If you cut off the heads of Scipio, Gabinus, and others, and give them to Caesar first, and give fifteen hundred Talents to the Roman dictator (the piper had borrowed fifteen hundred talents from Pompey and Caesar), Caesar would have no excuse to come to Egypt - and the throne of the sons of Pharaoh would be unharmed." As he spoke, the eunuch's withered hand suddenly grabbed Theotusus by the collar and said, "You are the most trusted person around Pharaoh, and I know that you became the chief of the palace guard after being recommended by Lybidaeus, how about it!" Can I trust you with the whole royal family? ”

"My wife in Egypt is in your hands, not to mention my devotion to the entire royal family." Diotusus said tremblingly.

"Very good, act immediately, we can't change the will of the pharaoh, because there is a copy of the text in the hands of the Romans, but other things, it is time for a showdown." Motamenes pouted his shriveled mouth and said with a fierce glint in his eyes. (To be continued......)