In the bright sun, the envoys of the kings of Mauritania and Geturia stood in sweat at the door of the temple of the brothers in the city of Vaga, holding olive branches in their hands, and behind them were mules and horses loaded with precious gifts—jade, dye, silk robes, and gold vessels—and they pleaded with Matthias and Arp for the high priest to receive them.

"Your Excellency the High Priest has taken the guards to Hippo Harbor to command the expedition against the Spanish brothers of Young Pompey, if you have come to discuss a major matter concerning the fate of the country, or please go back for the time being, and wait for the end of the war in Spain before presenting a bill to the High Priest in person." Matthias held the scroll in her hand and replied with great skill and tirelessness.

"However, please convey the peace sincerity of our two kings, and ask the high priest to accept these two olive branches, whether it is an indemnity or a land cession, they can be submitted for discussion and deliberation - we have not actually given any support to Rabinus and other rebels, nor have we participated in any secret talks with Rabinus that are unfavorable to the high priest and the republic, and we must trust our sincerity." The envoy was almost crying, and he was repeating it, unwilling to leave.

"Very well, the High Priest has authorized me to ask, where did the large number of Mauritanian and Getulian soldiers in the army of Rabinus come from at the Battle of the Tumur River?" Mattia's tone was very harsh, which also made the envoys of the kingdom feel humiliated, because the other party was just a personal servant, and the status of the two sides of the negotiation was completely unequal, which was also the shame that Li Bida deliberately inflicted on us, and the rulers of Rome had never been so arrogant in treating the surrounding kingdoms?

"Those are all lawless deserters, deserters" The envoys scrambled to be the first. But he argued without confidence.

"But that's not the case with the captured soldiers." Matthias spoke sarcastically. "Now I'm going to ask you more. Since the two kings have appointed you plenipotentiary envoys, do you have the power to refuse and agree to matters at the state level? If not, our army can reach the capital of your country and negotiate with your king in person. ”

The envoys said that they had this power, of course, and they showed Matthias and Arp their scepters and instruments with the seal of the kingdom.

Matthias pretended to inspect it, and then he pulled the scroll from his hand. "Mauritania, Guyuria, two kingdoms that don't know what to do! The High Priest has authorized me to ask you, if your nation is really trying to discern itself in this matter, then allow us to escort all the soldiers who have been taken captive from your country to the palace of your capital, and have the king confront them face to face, and the staff officers appointed by the high priest shall be the judges who shall be the observers—if the judge finds your king not guilty, the high priest shall consider pardoning your country, and only a fine shall be imposed; But if he is guilty, then let him bind himself. Go to the high priest's seat and receive any punishment. So now I ask you, agree. Still vetoed? ”

Seeing that the envoys' faces were as dead as ashes, Matthias slowly retracted the scroll and asked loudly, "Agreed, or rejected?" ”

"Allow us to return to our kingdom and consult the noble king, who will surely flog us to death if we make such a request." An older, dignified envoy delegate begged and pleaded.

Matthias shook his head, and then he pointed to the gates of the city of Vaga, and the envoys turned their heads to see bands of infantry and cavalry, marching proudly, "You need not be scourged, for the army that has gone to destroy your kingdom has already set out." In addition, the soldiers of your country who have been captured by us will no longer confront them in court, they have all been pardoned and joined our legion as guides. Matthias then snapped his fingers twice at the Medejie guards, and the black warriors carried out two wooden cages from the temple, "We have all these things ready, and a few other Silesian leopards and tigers from the Yukxing Sea are being loaded into the city of Rome in ships, and when the high priest triumphs, your former king will be stripped of his crown and authority, and will enter here naked, and fight these beasts in the Colosseum of Rome to bring the last pleasure to the people of the Republic." ”

"Sue us for a reason to insult our noble king with impunity, Romans! You are provoking a war, and your Senate will not allow it, and our captured soldiers will never turn their blades against the king. The envoys of the two kingdoms could no longer bear it and protested collectively.

"All of you, because you live on the edge of the desert, have lost the most basic and prudent judgment of the world pattern, and still think that this is the time of the Jugurdah War? As long as you remain obedient, as long as there are voices in the Senate to excuse you, as long as you can take advantage of the struggle within the republic, you can benefit from it? Poor barbaric and uncivilized people, then you should listen to the voices of some special people. As if by magic, Matthias summoned from behind him several ordinary soldiers wearing Gallic iron helmets and chain mail.

But when the envoys looked closer, they looked like ordinary Roman soldiers, but their skin was black, and the shoes on their feet were the same boots that desert people often wore.

It is clear that these people are all renegade Getulians and Mauritanians.

"Tell me your names." Matthias was triumphant in front of everyone.

The soldiers of "Valles-Nero-Phidius" were not ashamed to declare their Latin names one by one, and it seems that they voluntarily changed their original names after entering the camp.

"To whom do you owe allegiance?"

"We have made a solemn oath to be loyal only to the cause of the High Priest and the family of Aemilius, and to fight for our oath to the end, no matter where we are." The group of soldiers shouted collectively and in an orderly manner, obviously with ease.

The envoys could not bear it, and they angrily denounced the soldiers for forgetting the dignity of the nation and the state, and for giving up their children and their homes to serve the Romans, but the man named Phidius retorted: "What is wrong with swearing to the high priest, who not only pardoned us for our capital crimes, but also allowed us to go into battle as auxiliaries, with a share of the booty and the salary, and promised to grant us the status of subjects and a fixed amount of land to settle in the event of the fall of Mauritania, Don't shackle us with any false royal dignity, only officials will believe those things. I can now say, without fear of any god, that our king is a hopeless fool, and that if his kingdom is to fall, he will be to blame, and there is no need for his people to die for him! (To be continued......)