"It is cheaper to teach one's own people how to use weapons than to pay for soldiers from other countries!" - The Art of War in Ancient Rome

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"But this centurion was the treasurer when he received the golden bowl, and I believe that his gift does not violate the rules of the Legion, and if you want to be held accountable, please go to Dickman's door." Saab Kemus plucked up courage and argued.

Caesar grinned, saying that the bastard had found some interesting men, and then stuffed the golden bowl back into the arms of little Hortenhues, and entered the camp where the Thyme Legion had prepared for him in advance.

In the tent all the barbarian elders stood up and greeted Caesar, who was unceremoniously seated, and the confidential slave next to him put a neatly arranged stack of documents in front of him, and Caesar began to read them, and he was very pleased to see that these documents concerning the barbarian taxes, boundaries, and debt forgiveness were neatly written in charcoal ink and detailed notes, which made him decide the matter very quickly, and Caesar immediately stipulated: Lusitania renounced the tribes of resistance and rebellion, must undertake the task of clearing the bandits on the territory of the Governor's Palace after the boundaries are cleared; and pay a full tithe-tax to fill the treasury of the Governor's Palace, and the rest of the excesses and miscellaneous taxes shall be abolished as promised by a former treasurer (the one who went out from the Dickman's Gate); In addition, the destitute people in the tribes and towns were to distribute wheat for their relief, and small plots of land that were large enough to survive. In addition, Caesar demanded that the resubmission barbarians provide appropriate servant auxiliaries. Help him attack Zuihou, a barbarian stronghold that is still resisting. Orcrecy.

The barbarians praised Caesar for his kindness and generosity. Although the governor destroyed no less than seven or eight tribes with sword and fire, trafficked thousands of captive men and women into slavery, and destroyed a large number of fields in the course of advancing from south to north.

"Little Crassus, I didn't expect you to handle these paperwork so neatly." When the barbarian representatives had departed, Caesar politely praised the young son of Crassus. But Crassus Jr. did not have the slightest intention of taking credit, and he frankly told Caesar that all this was the result of the hard work of the financial officer Li Pida. And the battle of Iduka City was also won by his army.

Caesar, who was on the main seat, laughed, and he called the servant to summon in the stubborn and serious Sabo Kemus, who was still on duty in the camp outside, and said that he could also leave through the Dickman Gate, and the young officer did not say anything superfluous, but saluted Caesar and prepared to turn away. Caesar Haha continued to laugh and said, "Young man, I asked you to go outside Dickman and call back the former treasurer. ”

After seeing Sabo leave, Caesar paced to the map table and said to a fat old man with gray hair and a ruddy face like wine. "Papina, the siege of the city of Orcrecy is about to take place. You will also need to be guided by you. It doesn't matter, as long as I complete the expedition, after the triumph of Rome, I will definitely help you remove your status as a public enemy and return to your home state. ”

The old man rubbed his hands together excitedly and got up to thank Caesar.

As Sabo walked quickly to the door, he was sitting on a high mound in the trenches, telling several young soldiers stories of the battles of the past, how he captured the golden crown of the King of Kings in the Battle of Tegreseta in Asia Minor, and instructing the soldiers who milked the sheep next to him to use their fingers.

"Do you recognize your crime?" When Li Bida re-entered the tent, Caesar stood in front of the map table, staring at him.

"Yes, I should not have abducted elephants and Numidian mercenaries and then directed them through the heart of Spain, conquered several tribes that might have aided the Lusitanian rebels, and subdued many barbarians in the north—it was all my fault." Li Bida said with low eyes.

"You are lying, dear Calabis, although you now have the noble name of Lybidaeus, but you are still the Roman who was not afraid of the wind and rain before, this is not right, what is a real nobleman? That is, when you are a gambler, you must also have a heart of reverence for fate, because the greater the glory, any small mistake will kill you. Caesar said, and then a finger tapped on the map board, and said, "But if you are a governor, then you are a true hero in this expedition, and you have not only restrained and swept away a large number of enemies in the governor's palace, but also extended the blood tax collection in Far Spain by three or four thousand stadias." Alright, you should apologize to me in exchange for my forgiveness. ”

"I now have two hundred talents worth of the loot I sell, and I think it will be enough for your Excellency to return to the city and run for consul." Li Bida said in a huff, and Sabo next to him stared in surprise, he thought that the treasurer had already generously distributed all the proceeds of the war to his subordinates, and he was grateful for the five Talrants he had given to the treasurer before.

"Hmm" Caesar hung the hook pen on the edge of the map table, and suddenly said to Li Bida: "I think you know something, Pompey encountered this kind of major choice before, and the problem given by the Senate was to run for consul or hold a triumphal ceremony. ”

"That's right, Your Excellency the Doge means that Pompey has already enjoyed the Grand Triumph?"

Caesar nodded, and handed a letter to Lipida, which was written by Cicero, which said that just a few days ago, Pompey rode a white horse and led a procession through the entire city of Rome, and twelve elephants appeared in the procession, causing the entire section of the city gate to be torn down so that they could enter, and then they were driven into the Colosseum, and hundreds of sword slaves launched a bloody hunt against twelve elephants, thirty lions, and fifty leopards, when Cicero saw the elephants let out a shocking wail, When he fell like a heroic giant, the surrounding audience cheered desperately, but he wept for the tragic death of the dead elephant, the largest and most noble creature on the shijie.

"In this bloody place, the elephant who fell to the ground and died was the winner, and all of us, the loser." These are Cicero's exact words.

Li Bida was not interested in Cicero's philosophical views, and as soon as he saw Caesar's eyes, he understood that he loved vanity as much as Pompey: the triumphal ceremony in which twelve elephants participated, it was impossible to say that Caesar did not yearn for it, Caesar had ambition and vanity, and he would wear Toga's robe to the extreme of fit when he was young, but unlike Pompey, whose vanity was far greater than his ambition, Caesar would think calmly when the two contradicted.

"Your Excellency, I advise you to abandon the triumphal form and choose to run for consul, or I will withdraw all the money, and you cannot really punish me, for I am not afraid to leave again from Dickmangate." Before Caesar could say anything, Li Bida said word by word, openly revealing his heart. (To be continued......)