In order to make it easier to unify the war, Brutus ordered the republican regiments to be combined, that is, the four veterans to which he belonged and the Greeks were the 1st to 4th legions, while the two legions of Cassiio were the 5th and 6th legions, the two legions of Eulabella in Ionia Minor, the 7th and 8th legions, and finally the 9th and 10th legions newly recruited in Thessalia and other places, and the armed forces of the Aetolians were also formed as separate armies and served as independent wings.

Now, Cassillo's two legions, the Combined Fleet, had defeated the city-state of Rhodes, but Brutus preferred that he use only one legion of land and send the other army and most of the fleet back to Greece and the Peloponnese, and place this legion on the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, which would be closed and guarded.

With this, Brutus kept nine or eleven legions of recruits, under the command of Horace and Virgil, in Athens and Euboea to monitor the armies of Sabo and Adiana that might appear from Fort Lypida. Brutus and the rest of his generals, with four main legions, and the Aetolian servants, plus the Eighth Army sent by Eulabella across the sea, a total of six legions, along the avenue, hurried towards the Apsus River, which was the point where Caesar, Lipida, Pompey, and Rabinus had fought fiercely, and it was also the junction between Epirus and Greece, and the city of Bugarotum here happened to be the location of Agrippa's headquarters.

Now Agrippa's heart was filled with hesitation, and when he learned what had happened to his friend, he took his sword and sat opposite his brother Lucius. The brothers didn't say a word. He drove all his servants and subordinates out of the tent.

"You should know brother. From the time you crossed the sea to receive the orders of the High Priest, it was an out-and-out conspiracy, a framing of my friend and commander. ”

"So what? Sulla and Marius began to open up the vortex of war, then to Caesar and Pompey, to Lypita and Brutus, and for forty years the Roman Republic was the scene of not one in ten ancient noble families, and your friend's Octavian family was no exception. Now that it is completely destroyed, it will be annexed by the Phillips family. And my brother, my only pursuit now is that our family will not be extinct. After Lucius finished speaking, he paused and sighed, "I was also a republican person before, and until the end of the war in Africa, I was also a military tribune in Pompey's army, and I fought until I was wounded and captured. But now there are none. The idea has long since turned into an empty shell, and those who are willing to protect it. And the people it guards have fallen into the dirt, and even if I don't care, I can't tolerate the loss of my family's name. Agrippa, my dear brother, will not your friend, after taking over the power of the state, go to the path of kings? No need to deceive yourself anymore. ”

After saying that, Lucius pointed his finger at Agrippa, "I don't want to convince you right now, but if you have to understand that if you continue to follow Turinus, there is only one end, and that is to be exiled to a desert island farther away, and everyone in the family will be affected." Agrippa, as an elder brother, I have already put my family in such danger once, and I don't want you to repeat the same mistakes, and if you don't come to your senses, it's very simple, just hold the hilt of your sword and either kill yourself or fight me - I must be honest now, that is, the seven legions here, the army of the Republic, when the former commander Turinus was exiled for his sins, the command should naturally go to the High Priest, and now in the absence of the High Priest, it will be in your hands - you will not take over, Exile yourself or commit suicide and hand over the command to me, but if Agrippa dares to incite the Legion to rebel, then a terrible punishment awaits you, and even if you die, you will not be buried in the family cemetery. ”

When Agrippa heard this, he hung his head anxiously and hesitantly, and poked the carpet with the blade of his sword, feeling conflicted and confused about family affection, justice, and duty.

At this time, the situation did not allow him to think too much, and a herald told him what the front scouts had heard: several regiments of Brutus in the winter camp of Athens had poured out of their nests and were heading for the Apsus River.

"The decision is now in your hands, whether to defend Epirus and keep the city, the river, and the state with your legions, or is it busy with reputation-ruining infighting?" Over there, Lucius, who heard the news, also began to be aggressive, demanding that his younger brother give a clear position.

When Agrippa's brow was furrowed, and sweat seeped from the palm of his sword, another herald wearing a feather feather entered the tent at another exit, holding a tablet with an order engraved in his hand, saying that he had come urgently from the city of Rome, "Please read it, for there are outsiders present." Agrippa looked at his brother with a look of dissatisfaction and resentment.

"The High Priest has authorized the Senate to give Your Excellency the power to succeed you as Governor of Illyria, and the office of Acting Counsel, President Epirus and the seven legions of the Illyrian region, to defend against the invasion of the Brutus and Cassiyo factions until the coming spring."

When the announcement was finished, the herald held the authorization board in his hand and stood still, for Agrippa was his superior, and he did not dare to hand over the seal and paperwork of the appointment directly, but respectfully waited for Agrippa to take it himself.

But Agrippa stayed in his chair in distress, not getting up, not walking, not sitting.

At this time, it was Lucius who directly snatched the letter of appointment from the herald's hand, and he stood in front of Agrippa, "Take it!" ”

The other party was still silent, he looked up at his brother, then lowered his head again, and finally Lucius couldn't help it, "Agrippa, answer me now, what is your dream since childhood!" ”

But the other party still did not answer, so Lucius asked himself in his place, "When you were a child, you came and went in front of me, and you thought about two dreams, architects, or mechanics, and you said that you wanted to reach the level of those technicians under Crassus, and you hoped to transform the congested and dirty Rome like the Greek cities, and you hoped to build a lot of new lifting equipment. As for the current commander-in-chief, the Governor, this is indeed not what you desire, although you used to exercise in the stadiums and arenas as a child, and hone your martial arts and horsemanship, I know that your heart does not yearn for a career as a horse--Agrippa, even if you have no works, I am the first to admit that you will be the greatest architect in the world, provided that in three days you are still alive and not dead or exiled. ”

Then the elder brother took a deep breath and asked the younger brother, "You say, where do you think the most fundamental soul of an architect is?" (To be continued......)