Chapter 31: The Blueprint (I)
"He used farming as a form of entertainment, a source of wealth." βPlutarch on Cato Sr
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It was not until the setting sun that the eleventh and twelfth legions broke through the two chariot camps one after another, slaughtered a large number of barbarian men, and the two teams finally joined together and completely split the Helvetian camp in half, and the two chieftains of Helveti turned their horses away, leaving behind tens of thousands of servant tribes, and they had to surrender to Caesar.
In front of a chariot camp that had been beaten to pieces, Caesar came on horseback, and then jumped down, opened his arms and kissed and hugged Rabinus, Lybida and Apis, who were walking opposite, one by one, "Let's test this great moment together, today we have killed no less than 30,000 barbarians and captured 50,000 or 60,000 prisoners. β
"Perhaps we can also speculate that the more than 100,000 Helvetites who escaped from the city will be able to hold out for a few days before surrendering to us." Rabinus quipped that he knew that the brutes, whose organization and fighting spirit had been completely defeated, had been reduced to a flock, and that they would not be able to hold out for three or five days without logistics and with most of the women and children abandoned.
Caesar, however, had a serious expression, and inquired about the customs of the tribes in front of Apis, and then asked Apis to send a number of envoys, "It is forbidden for any tribe to take in the Helvetians or to provide food, otherwise they will be treated as enemies of the Roman Republic." β
All the Gallic tribes understood that once they were labeled "enemies of the Republic", they would be killed.
At this time, Caesar saw Li Bida who was silent beside him. He laughed. Ask if the other party is thinking about what level of reward the Twelve Legions need for outstanding performance during this time. Li Bida seemed to be suddenly shocked when he heard this, and said, "What I'm worried about is not the question of whether the reward is there, but the problem of how to use the reward."
Caesar was silent at this time, and his eyes rolled, looking at the distant mountains and wheat fields faintly in the south, as if he had seen the city of Rome.
Although Caesar claimed to have killed and captured nearly 100,000 Helvetians, a considerable number of barbarians broke through the siege. Moreover, the six legions that Rome had thrown into it also suffered heavy casualties, and after a rough count, no less than two thousand were killed, and two or three times as many were wounded. Next, Caesar relied on setting up camp near the city of Bibrakde, carefully burying the bodies of the fallen soldiers, and treating the wounded, and the whole army was forbidden to go out, and a large number of supplies from the Aidoui and other tribes were also sent one after another, and the camp and market sales of war slaves were also carried out "in an orderly manner". Under the operation of Caesar's many economic slaves and staff, the mines and cities of Marseille and Liguria came here to buy a large number of cheap war slaves. Now that there was plenty of food, Caesar himself declared that the price of all slaves would be less than one-third of what they would normally do in the market, and that they would also bear the food of the slave trade.
The amount of money gained, including the weapons of the Helvetians and the auction of baggage, as well as the "gifts" of the horrified other servant tribes, was so staggering that even those who now had no less than two thousand Tallents (most of the money was invested in Ptolemy, of course, and had not yet seen their return on it), admitted that Caesar had made a fortune in the war.
Labinus replied privately to Lypida, because he had promised to tell the other party: Caesar had obtained 80 million to 100 million Cesses in this war, which was the fundamental reason for him to start the war.
But Caesar was no better than Crassus, whose assets were his own: villas, cemeteries, workshops, farmsteads, and mines. As long as Crassus got the name, he could throw the money out at any time and organize a private army of ten legions. Caesar is different, he was still a debt-laden house before he set foot in Gaul, his assets are erratic, and he has no credit, if he is just a warmonger who wants to get rich, then now his goal has been achieved, but Caesar is Caesar after all, and the realm is obviously not like this, just as Li Bida reminded him before, "The reward of war, this kind of thing won with sword and blood, should be concerned with how to use it."
So Caesar decided to give away all the money surplus during these three days, leaving not half of the ass for himself.
Some were given to centurions and soldiers, some to their able staff, and some to be transported back to Rome for bribes to be paid to dignitaries.
Caesar five years ago was loved by no one except for the commoners who wandered the streets; But five years later, I, Caesar, will be the most glorious and popular figure in the city of Rome.
But as far as the army is concerned, only the ten legions of the four regular main legions are considered to be Caesar's bloodline, and there are two auxiliary legions, he takes a fancy to Appis because of the talent of the other party, but although Apis's political position is similar to Caesar's, this monarch is extremely principled and a fanatical follower of the republic, and under his leadership, Caesar no longer regards the eleventh legion as his own lineage (semi-lineage).
Therefore, Caesar's most trusted people are only Rabinus and Li Pida, and as for the other lieutenants, Caesar must spend countless amounts of money as lubricant to slowly integrate them into his own system.
Two days later, Li Bida returned 1 million of the 1.5 million Cesdeus that Caesar had given him alone, leaving only 500,000, which made Caesar a little surprised and worried: Is Li Bida angry? Because the gift of the rest of the lieutenants was two million Cesdes.
"The reason for leaving 500,000 yuan is to spend this part especially as a pension and reward for the soldiers of my unit." This is Li Bida's explanation, "As for the remaining million, it is not much for me personally, and I don't care about this money, but for Your Excellency now, any share of money is precious." β
"Well, if you ask me to use this million Cesses on your behalf, it will produce greater benefits than your personal possession." There was no one in the tent, and Caesar spoke very frankly, "You mean I understand, what do you want me to run for you?" β
"The head of the Colonial Council of Unonia, the War Act of the Outer Republic to assist the 'Piper' in the restoration." Li Bida didn't want to come to Caesar alone for help, but he also understood that with his connections and qualifications, even if he had money, it was far from enough to run such a state-level affair in Rome, and he had to rely on Caesar's "shell", not to mention that most of his money was now welded to venture capital.
"That's not enough for a million." Caesar said that I have nothing to hide from you, even if I am now, plus Crassus, to help you fulfill these two wishes, it is not enough to have a million Cestius, and after saying that, he raised his finger and said that in fact, my friends in the city of Rome have brought me news about Egyptian affairs from time to time, yes, the Republic is ready to intervene by force, but it will be a long, long time, maybe three years, or even five years. (To be continued......)