"If God wants to openly oppose man, it will be difficult for anyone to deal with." -- Homer

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"At that time, after we landed in Africa, we were also stationed in the old camp of Utica and Cornelius, and a few soldiers made a fortune by accidentally excavating a few golden idols in the ruins of Carthage. As a result, Appius cried out that at the time of the fall of Carthage, the Punics had buried countless treasures all over the ground, and as a result, all the soldiers under his leadership stopped digging trenches, and with shovels and pickaxes, they dug up almost all the old sites of Carthage, and finally found nothing. Pompey said as he laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten up.

Peletaeus did the same, but he persevered, "and at last the soldiers got angry, and they lifted Appius up and threw him into the pit they had dug, saying that if he could not dig anything more, they would bury him alive." ”

"In the end, it was really called Appius who dug up a few copper coins." After saying these words, the happy Pompey almost burst into laughter with Peletaeus.

Then the two fell silent again, "How did Appius die in the end?" In Crete, or in the Black Sea? ”

"Crete, he was the first to climb the head of the pirate stronghold, ate a javelin, and fell to his death, and he ended up in a pit." Peletaeus replied.

Pompey stopped talking, he looked at the slowly sinking sunset, and said, "When Sulla did not approve of my triumph, I said something to him." People love the rising sun rather than the sunset. Unexpectedly. I'm in that situation today. But I can't be like Sula. Surrounded by friends and wife and children, I am not the lover of Venus, I am the fighter of Mercury. Promise me, Peletaeus, that I will personally be in command of the two legions in the battle, and that you will fight together with the two legions of Turas, and that you will fight well with Vibrius, but you and he will surely survive. ”

"Yes. The great general Pompey, whether I or Vibrius survived, will make proper arrangements for your funeral. I will fight, but not the kind of fight that will not stop until the death. Peletaeus choked up.

Pompey nodded, stood up, and said goodbye to the old fellows one by one.

In the mansion of the city of Utica, Pompey listened to the sound of military trumpets outside, staring at the cloak of Alexander the Great that hung on the wall, and Cornellia walked in, and she spoke quietly. "Don't worry about me, I'm used to it. It seems that the men of Rome will eventually die on the battlefield. You should not have any pity to teach those who dare to be enemies of the great Pompey a lesson! ”

"Yes." Pompey laughed, and then he sat down in front of the mirror, and Cornellia took off her cloak and draped it over her husband's body, although it was a bit funny, because Pompey, who was in his fifties, was already fat, and the cloak was held up very tightly, and Cornellia strangled it several times before it was over, and her tears slipped down silently.

"Hey, Dmitrius, my hair, my hair, it doesn't look like Alexander at all!" Pompey pretended not to see his wife's tears, and called out to Demetrius, who was already weeping beside him, and the Jewish slave stepped forward and used a horn comb to arrange the great Pompey's hair.

"Isn't it funny that this lock of curly hair always hangs down in front of your forehead?" Pompey finally said this.

Demetrius didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he nodded, and forcefully combed Pompey's curly hair back, which was already mixed with a lot of gray and withered hair, but Demetrius combed it very carefully, and finally Pompey's hairstyle was really the same as the side of the Emperor on the silver coin.

Pompey was very satisfied, nodded, and then he got up, as if to explain the aftermath, and said to Cornellia and Demetrius, "My two sons, Rolls and Séctus, are now in command of the fleet and are fighting on the Balearic Islands, and there is no need to worry about them, because they are Pompey's sons, and it is entirely up to them to decide whether to fight or surrender." If this battle is unfavorable, I will not spare my life, so Demetrius" said, Pompey took out a few special wax plates from the bronze and gold inlaid box, "This is my family's inheritance, and I won't tell anyone that since my father's time, the Pompey family has owned tens of thousands of slaves and three thousand Tallents, and I can form three legions by scattering my assets, but unfortunately, if I guess correctly, now these assets should also be confiscated by Caesar and Li Pida, I also sold some of it to pay for the military. Demetrius, but I'll leave it in your hands for now, and do my best to get some money left over for my wife, Cornellia, and I'm sorry for you, my dear. ”

Unable to sobble, Cornellia threw herself into Pompey's arms, saying, "My father has gone insane, and you—"

"Don't cry, don't cry. Men are responsible for going to the battlefield vigorously and dying, and women are responsible for living well and strongly, isn't this the rule in the Roman world? Pompey briefly comforted his wife, then pushed her away, and put the wax plate into the bosom of Demetrius, and said, "Although I am in the relationship of master and slave with you, I have freed you in my will, and remember that if you fall into the hands of Libida or anyone else, do not fight too much, and give whatever you know, and I think they will not embarrass the freemen." Dmitrius, you can live well, and I will be satisfied with taking care of my family. ”

Then, the master and servant hugged each other tightly. Pompey then said goodbye to all his family and servants, walked out of the house, mounted his horse, and headed without looking back towards the boiling camp outside the city.

In the port of Brindisi, the soldiers of several legions are boarding the ship in an orderly manner, this is the third wave of Caesar's whole army, and it is also the most powerful wave of men, at this time, all the fleets of Li Pida came to escort, in front of the commander's tent in the dock camp, Yulia suddenly appeared, and took Leo, and Turinus!

"The children said they were going to see him, Leo was going to follow Papa, and Turinus was going to see his uncle." This is Yulia, who is wrapped in a blanket and holding two children, to Li Bida's explanation.

Li Bida looked at the two children of the same age in their early teens, Leo's eyes were obviously afraid of reproach, and he was very uneasy to pinch the leather box on his chest, which contained pens and scrolls; Turinus, on the other hand, kept his head down so calmly that he couldn't see any expression on his face.

"Turinus, as your guardian, I must ask clearly, what are you going to see your uncle in that place in Africa?" Li Bida asked, from the perspective of social tradition and ethics, he has no reason to blame the two children, Roman boys have to complete their children's education at the age of seven, complete their academic education at the age of thirteen, and begin to go into society and prepare to get married.

Then before taking up public office at the age of 30, military service and debating skills were indispensable experiences, and now they have no problem following Li Bida to see the world. (To be continued......)