"Work is not undignified." - The ancient Greek poet Josioades

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About the next day, the scouts reported the capture of the city of Mutina by Dehemoth to Antony, who was sixty miles away.

At this time, Anthony and Curio had counted the "harvest" of the past few days to the account house slaves, and felt that it was enough time to give a reward to all the soldiers, so they gathered the five, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleven legions, and built a high platform, and forced Leo to stand by his side, and then addressed all the soldiers:

"Dehemoth said that he received a secret order from the Senate, that is mad nonsense, we are the regular and righteous army authorized by the People's Council and recognized by the Senate. Caesar fought together from Gaul, Greece and Egypt, Caesar's blood has long been united with your banner, and look at the army of Dehemoth, all of which are fragile and deviant, and there is a legion that his sword slaves have privately formed, what can compete with us? Now that they have taken possession of the city of Mutina, which has been agreed with a peace agreement beforehand, and have expelled the local council of elders and inhabitants, plundered all the provisions, and burned the local buildings, it is a monstrous war crime, and the territory of the Republic is being invaded and defiled by the artificial, butcher, and bastard son of the Brutus clan, so it is only now that we need to defend this country. Immediately my promise was to take the city of Mutina, and to capture or kill Dehemoth, preferably the latter. Each soldier was rewarded with a hundred dinars. ”

Just as the centurion and the soldier began to shout. Anthony put his arm on Leo's shoulders again. Standing with him, he continued to say to everyone, "As for the rumor spread by Dehemos that the former cavalry commander Li Bida formed an offensive and defensive alliance with him, this statement is even more ridiculous, and now Li Bida's son is the military protector of our regiment, which is real evidence of my alliance with Li Bida. Come on, Leo. A few words to everyone, to someone in the venue. ”

Leo was then pushed to the front desk, he looked at the dense brass helmet and white, blue, and red military robes below, and immediately felt a little dazed, but he was a calm child after all, so he cleared his throat and said, "I think that Caesar's right-hand man in the past should not be infighting, and should be united with the outside in order to punish the real murderer." ”

The tail is not over yet. Leo was almost knocked to the ground by a storm of violent shouts. After the speeches and the distribution of rewards. Antony summoned the treasurer in the camp and consulted with all the military tribunes and chief centurions about attacking the city of Mutina—for a time the cavalry outflanked and cut off the road, the infantry began to build a blockade, and sent messengers to the city of Rome to refresh Akuta, which was very busy.

Antony even openly demanded to the Senate that after his victory in Shannan Gaul, he should be granted the status of sole consul for the following year, as well as a five-year appointment as governor of Shannan Gaul, and a ten- to fifteen-day thanksgiving ceremony for his "victory".

Before the letter was sent, even Curio rarely stood on a united front with Leo, expressing great indignation and dissuasion at Anthony's misdeeds, but he still went his own way.

At the same time that Antony and Dehemoth began to tear their faces in the city of Mutina, the most lively and grand civilian competition in the city of seven hills was about to begin, and all citizens of the right age could participate in this event: wrestling, riding competitions, swimming, etc. In addition, it is also the best time for aristocratic politicians from all sides to win over public opinion, and it can be regarded as an important festival on a par with the Triumphal and Saturnalia festivals.

"Dear Brutus and Cassio, I believe that you two are still fighting for your own hands, whether they are hated by the people because they are stained with Caesar's blood? But don't worry, this festival is just the time for you two to show off, collect donations from the Senate, hold events in your name, and give gifts, and the people will soon come back to you. In front of the Juilliard synagogue, Cicero, after the meeting, greeted Brutus and Cassiillo warmly, and persuaded him as such.

Brutus was silent for a while, then nodded, and said to Cicero that I will follow your advice and do it, even if there will be shameless accusations, but I am not afraid, and winning the people to trust me should be part of the pursuit of political ideals, and spending money and even bribes for this purpose can be exempted by the goddess of justice.

"Good, good." After speaking, Cicero quietly pulled the corners of the robes of the two of them, and asked in a low voice, "I don't think this war will be clear in a short period of time, Dehemos and Antony's military strength is a balance of power, and the military talents of the two should be equal, and Li Pida's position is not known now, he is still on the verge of accepting and rejecting the amnesty, so the two of you should take this opportunity to ask the Senate for two provinces for your life." After saying that, Cicero made a slight gesture, meaning where do the two of you belong?

"I want Lusitania." Cassiyo was not shy about it, as he had served as acting governor there, had considerable connections, and was confident that he could scavenge land and organize an army.

Brutus hesitated slightly, "I don't care, if I can, the lesser provinces are fine, Cyrene, Cyprus or Crete." ”

After hearing this, Cicero nodded, indicating that he would do his best to help in this matter, and then he said in a calm voice, "We used to have unhappiness in Ephesus, but that is all in the past, please believe that this old man in front of you is still a loyal follower of the republic in his bones, but fighting with the sword is not my specialty, so sometimes I choose to avoid negative attitudes, but now as long as I can help me, I will not hesitate to use my power for you to drive"

But in the evening, Cicero sent someone to send the news of the investigation to the Executive Yuan in Port Ostia, which was also Octavian's headquarters, "Leo, bear with me for the time being, it will be our turn to counterattack immediately." Octavian said.

The next day, Octavian went to Caesar's old house, paid respectful homage to Caesar's widow, Corpunia, and said to her, "Dear adoptive mother, you must be still immersed in the grief of the loss of your adoptive father, and you do not know much about the situation outside, that is, the people and the soldiers have been deceived and fooled, some of them have been driven by careerists to become tools, and some of them have been diluted by the temptation of the enemy. So at the Commoners' Games on horseback, I will try to reawaken their scrutiny and remembrance of their adoptive father and his death. ”

"Do you need any support from me? Child. ”

"I need the treasures left by my adoptive father, his laurel crown, his golden seat, and his robes." Octavian said, "I'm going to use a colonnade at the Games to show all these things." (To be continued......)