"The patriarchs used the money in their pockets to buy voters' votes, and then filled their pockets with money looted from the provinces." -- Ancient Roman political proverbs

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The scene was noisy again, and the chief legal officer reluctantly spread his hands, saying that he could enter the stage of free fighting, and I was just a kanban from beginning to end anyway.

Taylor handed a plate of amber to little Cato, an amber board that Calabis was familiar with, "What is this?" "He's pretending to be crazy and stupid.

"Oh, this is one of the evidence of Catiline's rebellion, and the words on the amber board are the list of the ten-member committee that Catiline is going to set up to pass the land reform program, and on it are the signatures and seals of the ten people who participated in the matter privately - by the way, Calabis, do you know how to do the basics?"

Calabis nodded modestly, "A little bit of understanding, a little bit of understanding." ”

Little Cato took the amber board majestically and walked up to Calabis, "How many men are there?" ”

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, I think it's seven, Your Excellency." Calabis slowly and slowly counted on his fingers, delaying the time to think.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight! It's eight people, Calabis, and I think you should hire a reliable treasurer to run your business in the future, if you can get out without guilt today, of course. Cato Jr. corrected angrily.

Oh, Calabis tugged at his fingers again, and finally approved of Cato Jr.'s number.

"Committee of Ten, where are the remaining two?" Cicero also rushed over and asked.

Calabis was stunned for a moment and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe Catiline didn't have all his companions. You need to know. This is also a common occurrence in the business world. ”

"There are two people left, aren't they Crassus and Caesar? Many of the senators and insiders said that they had already had an affair with Catiline, and that they had signed the amber board, and that Crassus had also helped Catiline clear his debts, and that the amber board had been handed over to me with traces of modification. "Cato Jr. and Cicero were in trouble at the same time.

Zuihou, Calabis slurred to the two people standing in front. Coming back: "The remaining two people, it may also be the two of you" As soon as the words came out, not to mention the audience, even the legal officer in the seat couldn't help laughing.

In the midst of laughter, Cicero suddenly became solemn, held up a roll of parchment, and slowly unfolded it, "You are indeed a cunning and unusual Oriental, but I think." Princia you know! He was Syra who was hanged. The mistress of Lianturus, who secretly handed over the amber tablet to me. And now she has also proved that the person who took out this amber plate in the first place was you, Crassus and Caesar's most important Sequestre, Calabis. The chain of inferences in the meantime, there is no need to repeat it in despicable terms! ”

The evidence was indeed very lethal, and the afternoon sun, along the patio of the dome, fell on Calabis's back, his eyes were turning rapidly, and he was nervous in the astonishment of the crowd, and the sweat on his face was dripping, and Cicero and Cato the Younger were triumphant, and sat back in the spectators, and the judge and the jury began to talk about the matter of the vote.

In front of the colonnade outside, a slave said two words in Crassus's ear, and Crassus was expressionless, raised his glass and took another sip, and then spilled the water from the cup on the steps, and soon seeped silently into the masonry and earth.

Seeing this, a group of Crassus's armed servants began to break through the crowd and walk slowly in the direction of Jucora Street.

"What's the matter, Calabis, you'd better say something before the verdict is handed down. Also, did you hear my question? Your left ear has a hole, and my voice must be able to convey the past. Cicero sarcastically said.

Suddenly, Calabis spoke loudly something that no one could understand, and he kept saying it so that everyone cried out in amazement, "I can't hear what you say!" Cicero walked up to Calabis again and shouted.

Apparently, Cicero had never heard of a language called Chinese.

Just when the chief legal officer lost patience and was about to call Hu Cong to control Calabis's emotions, he suddenly returned to normal and burst into a sentence: "Your Excellency, your new residence on Palatine Hill is beautiful and luxurious, isn't it?" ”

Cicero didn't know what he was trying to say, maybe it was to stall for time, maybe it was to confuse the public, but Calabius was obviously familiar with his situation, and after he became the "father of the nation" of Rome, his reputation and wealth rose instantly, so he bought a beautiful villa on the Palatine Hill, where the rich gathered, surrounded by beautiful aspen trees, which allowed him to have a bird's-eye view of the whole city of Rome from the terrace.

"Yes, but how does this relate to this case?" Cicero returned.

"Would you be willing if someone set fire to this villa of yours?"

Cicero raised his hands, saying that the defendant was no longer reasonable, and urged the court to issue a verdict as soon as possible for further torture.

"You don't want to! Because this villa cost you 80,000 drachmas, you and your wife regard it as if you were to take your lives, but if you want to deduce it, how could Crassus, who owned half of the real estate in the city of Rome, participate in Catiline's conspiracy, and don't you make it clear that the crime you convicted Catiline in the first place was that his henchmen wanted to set fire to the whole city of Rome! Let's ask, how could Inspector Crassus, who personally destroyed hundreds of millions of his property, agree to it, and how could he participate in it! This simple logic is not difficult for everyone present to understand. Calabis suddenly spoke out in one breath like a cannon.

The whole scene froze at once, and then there was actually a jury and an audience, feeling a kind of reversed pleasure, and applauded Calabis, and the judges began to talk to each other again, Cicero and Cato Jr. were a little dumbfounded, but Cato Jr. still said very strongly: "No matter what, Carabis, your guilt is conclusive." ”

"What crime? Just because I accepted the project contracted by the Ombudsman? ”

"No, it's you who have an ambiguous relationship with the Catiline affair. We need to torture you. ”

"Everyone, don't forget! -- How did His Excellency the Consul swear before the conspiracy of Catiline was revealed, that if any freeman was willing to take Catiline, he would reward 200,000 Cesdes, and that even if he participated in it, he would not be blamed in the past. Didn't Printhia's testimony say that I gave her the amber board, which was vital to the fate of the Republic? What qualities and personality does a Roman who has broken his promises, especially an archon, talk about - the father of the nation of Rome!? Calabis scoffed loudly, and suddenly pulled out from the bronze tube of the jacket a papyrus that was still neatly preserved, which he had removed from the statue in front of the Senate, shook it twice, and placed it in front of Cicero. (To be continued......)