On the second day, Caesar rode alone to the camp of the northern line, and made a special request to inspect the Ninth and Eleventh Legions, accompanied by Lybida and the wounded Dicias.

Caesar's actions seemed to have a deep meaning, the two legions suffered a humiliating defeat in the battle the day before, many tribunes and centurions were trampled to death by trampling on each other, and the soldiers discarded more than thirty regimental flags, and from the previous consistent expression, these two legions also became the biggest "shortcomings" in Caesar's entire war machine.

"Now the Ninth Legion is the last in the regular legion sequence, and the Eleventh Legion is the last in the auxiliary legion sequence. If we take into account the former's appearance in the Gallic Wars and the latter's appearance in the wars of the Bosphorus Kingdom in the past, and compare it with today's situation, it is really sad to cry. These were Caesar's exact words, in other words, he needed to concentrate on the admonition and give a spiritual baptism to the two legions, nay, the whole army.

In the camp, surrounded by forests and sandy land by the sea, the two thousand remaining soldiers of the Ninth Legion, and the remaining eighteen hundred soldiers of the Eleventh Legion (the rest were either killed and wounded in battle or disappeared without a trace), gathered together in such a dejected and trembling manner that they did not even dare to carry the eagle banner and the regimental emblem, for many were full of belief that Caesar would punish and disband the two defeated legions.

Caesar rode a white horse to everyone, and he asked all the people of the two legions to raise their heads first, "The battle of the day before yesterday has passed, and those who survive will face the future, and those who indulge in love will only be cowards who will never get courage." Now some people are always thinking about this failure in their hearts. Yes. The Ninth and Eleventh Legions had indeed suffered a crushing defeat. Twenty experienced centurions were killed, the Eagle Banner of the Ninth Legion was almost taken away by the enemy, and the Eleventh Legion was even more disturbing, and nearly half of the people, after seeing the enemy touch from behind, thought of not a strong blockade, but a desert and fled! ”

Hearing this reprimand, the soldiers lowered their heads again, and Caesar sighed. "This scene reminds me of the battle between the ancestors of the Republic and the Punics in Cannae, and you may see many accounts of how we Romans died heroically in that desperate situation, but it was not like that. Most of the soldiers who died in Rome dug a hole in the earth with a pickaxe, buried their heads in it, and let the enemy slaughter them - this is the sad fate of the cowardly, and bravery and decency always belong to the few elites who persist in fighting. So, I implore all of you here. Continue to fight for me, with the glorious victories that followed. Wash away the shame of the past, and now there is another group of people, they think like this, always haunted by a failure, haven't we won so many victories in a difficult environment? In Gaul, in Germania, in Italy, and especially in Spain, we annihilated three legions at once, but we still destroyed the enemy's most elite army and the most experienced generals with fortitude and fighting spirit, so it is not terrible to lose once, but to cancel out the pessimism of the previous ten victories! ”

Caesar's words mobilized the feelings of all the soldiers, and they shouted in unison, begging the dictator to give them the latest battle orders, even if they could die on the spot now, they would accept them without reservation, and many shouted "Julius, Imperato", but Caesar, while waiting for their excitement, suddenly shouted again, and interrupted them with a loud voice, "But in the end, I still have to ask you, who bears the responsibility for this war?" ”

The dictator's tone was extremely harsh, which made Li Bida feel puzzled, because in the previous joint meeting of generals and assistants, Caesar had taken all the responsibility for the defeat on himself to a large extent, admitting that he had entrusted himself with the superiority of the forces under the condition of insufficient logistics and military strength, and if Li Bida had not arrived in time, it would have caused a fiasco from which he would never recover.

But in front of the soldiers, Caesar's tone and attitude changed significantly, and he continued to put on a frightening face, and fiercely reprimanded the soldiers present, "Aren't you lucky enough? It's useless to complain about Lady Luck when the enemy fleet is all over the sea, and if you think you're unlucky, see if you've put in real hard work. I'm Julius. Caesar, who had led his troops to defeat enemy after enemy, occupied favorable terrain, water, and fortifications, and encircled the enemy firmly in the city of Kocula, and now it was only because of your cowardice and negligence that the enemy was able to surprise the enemy. Therefore, none of the blame for the defeat of this battle should be blamed on my Caesar, all of them are your responsibility! ”

The verdict "It's all your responsibility" shook the remnants of the two legions like thunder, and they felt like deathly ashamed, and many people wondered why they had let senseless fear take over their hearts in the first place, and if they had raised their weapons and fought in the camp, could Pompey's soldiers really have more hands and eyes than those Gallic barbarians?

"I declare that the titles of the Ninth and Eleventh Legions will be retained for another year, for the war against the national thief Pompey is not over, and you still have a chance to restore your honor. But today's battle still has to be held accountable to the end, that is, all the team standard-bearers, due to the poor flag protection, are all sent to the hundred-man team as ordinary soldiers, and all additional salary allowances are removed. When Caesar had finished speaking, he extended his hand to all the soldiers and gave a military salute, "Now you are under the command of General Lybidaeus, for the old Supreme Commander Dicchias here has also been dismissed, good luck to you." With that, the dictator rode away.

Dicias's face was full of shame, he didn't even dare to ride a horse, and subconsciously covered his wounds, as if it was a sign of shame, but Li Bida ran in front of him, "On the Egnatia Boulevard, Pompey's four legions are also quickly fleeing to the east, and the supply lines from Illyria to here are resumed, and I suspect that Lipo and Sektus and others are about to leave with Rabinus's army, so the hard days are coming to an end." ”

The other party looked at Li Bida and didn't understand the deeper meaning.

But Li Bida did not have any deep meaning, but said, "The cities of Salona and Issa have raised a batch of wheat from the barbarians, and Epirus and Aetolia have also obtained sheep cheese and pork—the soldiers of our legions can finally relieve their hunger and fatigue!" (To be continued......)