"The more beautifully it is dressed under the guise of freedom, the more abominable slavery it will be." -- Tacitus satirizes the election of consuls in the imperial era, which was entirely nominated by the emperor

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When Cicero left the house, the morning glow had just draped over the hills, and the sparkling Timber River reflected, like a ribbon around the city of Rome, the sun had not yet fully entered every block and corner, many congested arcades, the light was still as blurred as the night, Cicero walked like a fly, thanks to his years of fitness habits, old Taylor was a little out of breath with chores and books on his back and followed behind, "Hurry, hurry, Taylor." ”

As a result, when he reached the entrance of the square, there was a low howl of a beast, which frightened Cicero into standing still, he couldn't believe that such a thing could still appear in the city of Rome, could it be that the beast sill in the gladiator school was loosened? "Taylor, tell the people behind you to wave the torches, quick!"

The slaves behind him also knew that the beast was afraid of fire, so they hurriedly protected the sides and in front of their master, and danced the flames towards the long-haired beast.

What is it? It was almost the size of a lion and much larger than the leopard of Asia Minor, but its posture and howl were like that of a wolf, and the rest of the vendors who came to the bazaar witnessed the monster in the same way as Cicero, and were so frightened that they threw their baskets and trailers in place and ran away in the alleys, confirming that Cicero was not in a nightmare, "What did I see? The eyes, nose and fangs of the Nile falcon are like those of a pig. He has long curls all over his body. Howl like a jackal. Cicero muttered to himself.

This monster is like a ghost. Facing Cicero he circled back and forth a few times, then he let out a long whistle, leaped up in mid-air, jumped a few times, and then disappeared into the arcade, and then a red flame rose and flew to the Capitol Mountain. Cicero and his attendants stood still. Unable to move for a long time, several slaves hurriedly ran to the arcade where the monster had been, and after a while, their faces turned so pale that Cicero could see clearly from a distance of a hundred feet, and ran back, "The mistress of this house has just given birth to a monster baby, with two heads, and no gender at all, just like a lump of flesh. ”

"Take me to see it." Cicero was shocked.

But the slave shook his head and said, "The baby was dead and covered in blood." Its four eyes are half-open.

As the morning fog and cooking smoke slowly drifted away, the Juilliard Hall was noisy. Each of the senators learned of the tragic death of Dehemos and the march of all his legions to the south, and they all rolled up their sleeves, bare arms, and besieged Cicero angrily, "I think you have promised before, with the edict of Lybida as high priest and consul, the chaos of the whole republic will disappear!" ”

"Don't panic, we still have a lot of room to maneuver." Cicero shouted.

"Earlier you said that the smoke is gone, but now you want to say that there is room for manoeuvre, we should cut out your tongue now." The senators cried and shouted in grief, and the spitting stars flew like meteor showers in front of Cicero.

"You shouldn't have sent Liberdaius to the expedition, you should have completely entrusted the command of the legion to Young Caesar at that time!" Some people say so.

"God knows what kind of psychology you have, you actually want to give the murderer Dehemoth a sacrifice of thanks, which really angers Young Caesar and Li Bida." Others say so.

The Senate was full of soldiers, and the whole city of Rome, no, the whole of Italy, whether it was a nobleman or a commoner, everyone was packing their bags, the purpose was to flee as far away as possible, and many people said that the only thing that Ma Lulas did right in his life was to live in seclusion in the countryside in advance, which proved that fools can also have unexpected blessings.

In the chaotic synagogue, where Cicero was still holding his arms high, shouting incessantly, that the time should come to "defend and compromise on the other," and he advocated the use of the money in the treasury to conscript all citizens of appropriate age in and on the outskirts of the city, and to properly emancipate the young and strong slaves, to arm all the sword-fighting slaves in the schools, and to form two legions, preferably of a thousand cavalry, as far as possible. Then, when we have the capital to resist, we will negotiate with Lybida and Octavian, "We have no need to panic, we do not need to do anything that will disgrace the Republic and the Senate because of the present temporary difficulties, we are still in charge of the overall situation and give orders." All the senators, and all the knights in the city of Rome, should join in this work, and if there is money to pay, we may achieve a great and glorious victory in the struggle against the beast of tyranny, and from now on I and Pisso, in the capacity of the highest position of the Inspector, shall temporarily direct all the work, and my fellow citizens shall remember that the greatest terror is not tyranny, but the fear of tyranny, and from now on no one of status and office shall be allowed to leave the city of Rome, From now on, no one shall be allowed to be absent from the proceedings at every assembly on the grounds of illness or any other reason, and is it true that when Pyrrhus and Hannibal were in the city, there were still senators who did not come to the synagogue for these trivial reasons? Remember, it is the fighting spirit that was never willing to be a slave that sustained the city of Rome for seven hundred years, making it the most powerful country in the world, and now reminds us of our ancestors."

"Li Bida's thirteenth legion is in the city!" I don't know who came to this voice, "Cicero is going to make a long speech, and I think he should be called to go, and perhaps his servants will betray him to the big man for a thousand ceths." ”

After speaking, on the seats, tables and chairs, all the patriarchs jumped and ran with agility like apes, rushing out of the door, like a country man who couldn't wait to go to a certain celebration, and the fingers of the two patriarchs were squeezing and breaking.

"Where are you going?" Cicero, standing in the middle of the mess, shouted.

"We're going to run away, or we're going to show our loyalty to Lipita and Caesar the Young, or Anthony is going to show our loyalty, and we're not involved in any conspiracy." One of the senators shouted at Cicero without respect, and then turned and ran away, throwing away his sandals.

Cicero turned his head to look, and there was only one senator still there, and his fellow inspector Pisso, who was also wearing a double purple-edged cannon, "Lucius. Colpnius. Pisso, I didn't expect you to be willing to stay and co-preside over the current situation with me. ”

"Dear Cicero, I'm too old to squeeze the doorframe with those people, and I'm afraid I'll die on the spot." Pisso replied, and then both of them smiled bitterly, and now Cicero saw that several of the clerks in charge of the records were still there, and asked them, "Go ahead and put the shelves up, and do not escape your duties, I and His Excellency Pisso still have an edict to be published, but now there is no need to vote." ”

Cicero then continued, "First of all, free Gaius from the dungeon!" Then, Casca, Spinzel and others were released from there. We are impartial. (To be continued......)