"In my opinion, they are scum, flies, mosquitoes, bed bugs and lice, and none of the decent people want to meet them in the Roman Forum." - Plautus's evaluation of the pimp and the bustard in "Weevil".

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Several heavily armed soldiers walked in, and Triali, as if triumphant, said triumphantly: "This envoy named Calabis, don't you know the circumstances in which you are now?" Threaten me with the Eagle Banner, you haven't killed my opponents in Rome in Rome! ”

"You're stupid enough to kill an opponent, you probably think I stuffed the Eagle Banner in the box, right?" Calabis untied the rope and brought out a plaster cast of the Eighth Legion's Eagle Banner from the box, and then dropped it to the ground, shattering it with a crisp sound, causing Tri Ali to blink in place, not knowing what to say, "Perhaps, I can send the Legion across the Cimmerian Strait, and then report the matter to Pompey, as we all know that he has the power of four hundred furlongs along the coast, and you pheasant army will obediently hand over the Eagle Banner." ”

"Do you know the Claudius family from Sabine City?" "There is a young man named Pabrius in it, and now the sword of Mithridates and the eagle banner of your legion are in his hands, and you must be curious where he is, and I can tell you that he went to Macedonia on a pirate ship a day ago, and then to the city of Rome, waiting for my instructions, and his whereabouts are unknown to Peternius." AS FOR POMPEY'S IMPERIUMMAIUS. Oh my God, you still believe in such an unreal thing. Can he use this power in the city of Rome? Pompey called us the Pheasant Army. Do you also think that under the authority of the Senate and the Assembly of Citizens, when Pompey was about to achieve full success, the Thirteenth Legion, which was specially organized, did not have a person behind the scenes who could compete with Pompey? The contemptible are merely agents of these characters. Your Excellency, Commander, don't be stupid, what's the benefit of following Pompey? He seems to have gained fame and fortune in this war, but the old men in the purple robe in the Senate will not let him go, when the pirates and Mithridates are finished. He still has some value, but when he returns to Rome, he will be the target of public criticism, but you will not be the same, as soon as the Eagle Banner of the Eighth Legion is back in your hands, you will have a great future, a rich family, a clean background - you will soon become a magistrate in a wealthy province, and you will be able to run for consul, and then become a governor. Earn billions of fortunes, villas are full of valleys and lakes. The prospect of eating the finest lamb and caviar is exciting just thinking about it, isn't it? ”

Triali swallowed and foamed, then looked up at Calabis and said slowly, "Can we talk about the details?" ”

Calabis sat down, took the wine jar and glass in front of Triali, poured a glass for himself, and poured a glass for the frustrated commander of the Eighth Legion, "It's very simple, immediately the Eighth Army crosses the Cimmerian Strait, but instead of asking for the Eagle Banner, it will dig trenches with our Thirteenth Army to confront each other. ”

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean." Triali heard this strange request from Calabis, and his mind was not functioning at all.

"Actually, there is a very stupid and clever guy on Pompey's side, but you don't need to ask about his name, you don't need to ask, he will think that I am making a fuss with IMPERIUMMAIUS, so he must try to suppress Pompey's temperament, and once again take matters into his own hands behind his back, and limit this matter to a private sphere, so IMPERIUMMAIUS will not appear in this ocean for the time being, but this just gives us a time gap, a time lag for autonomous action - during this periodThe Eighth Legion marched on Ponticabion in the name of exterminating the remnants of Pontus, while the Thirteenth Legion would block you on the island, as it was now under the purview of the governor of the province of Macedonia. ”

"And then"

Calabis, smiling, then made an inflated gesture, "Do you still need to ask?" The two legions of Rome for the conflict of competence in the scope of battle, once the lawsuit of the sword and the trench began, the city of Rome soon knew the news, all kinds of people would come to Little Asia one after another, things would get bigger and bigger, Pompey's situation would become more and more transparent, he would overdraw his credit and interests in this war to settle the situation, he used to like to snatch the merits of others, Spain, Italy and Little Asia, now it is the turn of those who hate him to take revenge - as for me, you are welcome, I am Mercury, who brought happiness to the Eighth Legion, and who brought calamity to Pompey - don't be stunned, let's toast to the number of the Muses (nine cups), Your Excellency, Commander. After saying that, Calabis drank all the wine in his cup, stood up and said goodbye to Triari, "By the way, the conditions around the city of Pontica Biong are very difficult now, there are wooden fences and deer barbs we have set up everywhere, roads have been dug up, villages have been cleaned, and fields have been burned, I am afraid that the supply of your army will be very difficult, you should consult with Pompey to deal with this kind of matter, the longer the better." Also, the Eagle Banner is in the hands of a centurion named Haybrida, and as long as you play the scene well, he will return it to you when the matter is over, but you pay him ten thousand drachmas, so be it. Calabis pushed the men aside and walked out of Triari's tent.

He left Triari's garrison with great speed, and directed the carriage to a hidden promontory, where he set up a stove with the coachmen, and hung his scarf and cloak on the branches of the elm trees, and began to eat and wait, waiting for those who came from the sea, until the next day on the water, a rowing boat with small purple sails came

Half a day later, under the golden sun, a few swallows were combing their feathers with their beaks in the shade of the trees in front of the terrace, Adiana woke up in a lazy state, and then a eunuch knelt down in front of the entrance of her bedroom, and said very respectfully: "Your Excellency, the slave who went to the city market to buy today has returned. ”

Adiana hurriedly got out of bed, sat down in front of the dressing mirror, tied the enamel gold pendant around her neck, put a gold beetle armband on her wrist, and asked softly, "Have you bought the turbot from Lukelin Lake that I want to eat?" ”

"Yes, it just appeared in the market today in the name of the season." The eunuch replied with a soft smile. The ivory in the princess's hand was combed, and then she was in front of the mirror, and combed her long hair with pride more carefully, and when she had finished combing, she took out a small piece of papyrus, wrote a few characters on it, and rolled it carefully, and the eunuch stepped forward to take it, "Hand this thing over, and do it properly." ”

After the eunuch left, the princess sighed, then knelt on the table for a while, and raised her face again, "It's time to fight again." (To be continued......)