Within the city-state, you can feel the importance of virtue. —Plutarch

——————————————————————————

When they arrived there, the apartment building was already on fire, and the residents who were running around began to look for fire extinguishing equipment and clean water, but Delferro's men and horses instantly surrounded the fire and pushed the residents outside, preventing them from rushing in to fight the fire, "Friends, this place is very dangerous now, we have to let the professionals come, we are a qualified firefighting team." Delfero shouted, but his men stood straight and motionless, hearing only the explosion of fire and wood.

"Hey, you, get water from the waterwheel to put out the fire!" After a while, Delfero shouted to one of his men, who pretended to run to the car, and then suddenly shouted in surprise that he had forgotten to refill the water wheel.

"Then don't go find water, I remember seven blocks away, there was a cistern." Delfero waved his hand, "You pull the waterwheel, go quickly!" And then the guy drove the car, hey, hey, and the wheels slowly pressed down the street, disappearing into the darkness.

A male resident in his 40s, barefoot and trembling, stepped forward and reminded, "Turn right in this block, and there will be a cistern." Delfero shouted what you say, and the other man took a few steps back, and then the fat man looked at a papyrus for a moment, and said, "No, friend, the map shows the nearest water source, just seven blocks away, and our fire brigade trusts accurate maps." ”

Just as Delfero was holding the map. That apartment couldn't support it anymore. Crashed down. A huge puff of soot was kicked up, making it impossible to open one's eyes. Faced with the frightened occupants, Delfero looked back and announced with regret: "This firefighting was successful, but the apartment collapsed." Two blocks away, another building burst into flames, and Delfero screamed. With this heroic firefighting team, he flew and pounced

In the middle of the night, when Del Ferro "extinguished" the seventh fire, Calabis could no longer bear it, and he saw the owner kneeling in front of the burning house, handing over the title deed to Del Ferro, pleading and begging for a way to get the net open, but Crassus's "fire brigade" remained unmoved and surrounded by the fire.

Wait until the building burns down completely. Delfero had a slave in the role of a treasurer take over the owner's deed. He said, "Your property, although it has been put out with great efforts, has been completely burned down. What was originally worth 15,000 drachmas can now only be purchased for 3,000 drachmas. ”

Carabis couldn't take it any longer, he suddenly came up, grabbed Delfero by the collar, and asked, "What exactly do you want to express when Crassus tells me to follow you?" ”

The offended Delfero, without the slightest annoyance, slowly let go of Calabis's hand and handed over a roll of papyrus, and by the light of the fire, Calabis saw that the names of the various owners on it were the same people who had forcibly bid for the Clashus iron ore and the blacksmith's workshop in Etrunia, could it be that the house burned tonight was theirs?

"That's right, it's their business." Delfero decided, "Calabis, you are a wise man, and if you should know that all their property has been burned, you can only sell the deed to my master at a low price, and then my master will use the money to buy the iron smelting industry in Etrunia, and they will no longer have the financial resources to compete with their masters." Isn't that a good thing for you, Calabis! ”

"Yes, I understand Crassus's purpose, he is showing me his strength and indirectly warning me not to go against his will." Calabis roared.

"Yes, no one can stop him from what his master wants to achieve in the city of Rome, and he sincerely hopes that you are in his camp in Calabis, otherwise—I can't say, but you must know that the apartment in Via Jucoca, where you and your women and children live, is my master's property." Delfero also shouted, his meaning was obvious, he didn't want Calabis to do something that he couldn't do because of his hot head.

"What does that Crassus tell me to do!"

"To-morrow you go to his courtyard and swear allegiance to him, and that is the purpose of your master."

Yes, yes, this is the purpose of Crassus asking him to observe the "fire brigade", Calabis recalled, he also spent time investigating Crassus, this guy inherited a very rich inheritance, as much as three hundred Talents, but he is still not satisfied, unscrupulous, shameless, and now he has seven thousand one hundred Talents, and sits on half of the property of the city of Rome, and all this money is clean and clean? Apparently not, Crassus, he was the king who manipulated the Roman night, and in front of him, he could either bow down or be destroyed, and he had to choose one or the other.

The luxury apartment on Jucora Street, where Calabis and Potty live, is the property in Crassus's name, so once one day, Calabis disobeys him, what awaits him may also be the punishment of the burning of the Red Lotus and the destruction of his family - will Crassus still be afraid of burning down one of his properties? Delfero, the administrator, is the eye that always monitors his family.

Now, all Crassus needs is your oath of allegiance.

The next day, when Calabis came to Crassus's courtyard, he received no hindrance, and Crassus and his son sat calmly on the circle chair in the lawn in the backyard, and Caesar also sat on one side, and when they saw Calabis, they were still very enthusiastic, but Carabis saw that on the round table in the courtyard there were statues of Apollo and Venus, and a black cup in front of it, and incense sticks were lit next to it, and smoke curled up.

Apollo, the deity of the Crassus family; Venus is the deity of Caesar's family. This ornament makes it all clearer that you must swear to us both of you to be faithful forever, Kalabis.

Calabis slowly walked to the table, picked up the knife in front of the cup, quickly made a small cut on his index finger, and the blood was dotted, blending into the clear water in the cup, and then circled his fingers, raised his hands and said, "I, Gonerus. Calabis, I hereby offer my allegiance to the gods Apollo and Venus, and to their divine descendants, that I may be endowed with divine power, and with the assistance of light and virtue, I will give all my liliang to the object of my allegiance. ”

At this time, Crassus, who was in the circle chair, was the first to applaud, and then Caesar, "Don't worry, Calabis, since you have sworn allegiance to me, your title is my one-year term as Inspector, and the most important thing (Crassus was elected Inspector of the Senate in 65 BC for a five-year term)—I also promise you that in two more market days, not only will you officially obtain the qualification of Roman citizenship in front of the altar of the god of war, but I will even find a way to help you obtain the status of nobility." Crassus clenched his hands and spoke leisurely, as if he had read through Calabis's thoughts. (To be continued......)