"Let the vultures purify this filthy and despicable creature, and warn everyone that if a slave tries to climb high, he will trample his master under his feet, so it is better not to have such thoughts." Brutus threw the iron rod to the ground, then wiped the blood from his body with the sleeve of his robe and chased after his uncle.

Three days later, little Cato's great ship slowly sailed away from Corfu, and on the cliff by the sea, Asher, who had no nose, stood barefoot on the rocks with his face so cold and hungry, and in a tattered blanket (left to her by a poor oarsman), watching the shadows of all the fleets fading away, surrounded by cold winds and swirling vultures.

When Cato's procession was up the Tiber, Claudius, who was in the temple of the goddess of virtue, had already taken out a letter from afar, on which was the handwriting of Li Pida, "All is done, remember, kill little Cato, he is obviously going to run for next year's consulship and destroy him." ”

Claudius's handsome face smiled even more happily, and he stuffed the letter to Caesar's cronies Ebro and Barsatus next to him, who also laughed when they looked at it, "Ladies and gentlemen, what we need is a grand welcome ceremony, all dressed neatly, wearing beautiful garlands to welcome spring, and welcoming our former judicial officer like a triumphant general." ”

At the port of Ostia, where the Tiber River flows into Rome, Cato's fleet passed in jubilation, and both sides were crowded with senators, townspeople, and priests who had come to greet them, and they eagerly extended their hands to the fleet, hoping that little Cato, who had achieved great deeds from the East, would also stand in the bow of the ship, or dismount from the boat. Say hello to them. Even if it's smiling and waving. But when everyone saw the giant six-row oars royal flagship on which little Cato rode (which he had taken over from Ptolemy in Cyprus), the deck was empty, only the oars were constantly paddling the icy waters of the Tiber, and they were only looking forward to it, and the Romans were eager to see the hero, but they were even more eager to interact with the hero, but Cato the little was obviously a little disappointed, so many people were listless.

But there were many voices of excitement coming from the crowd. "Cato was a great triumph on this occasion, for he had achieved great benefits for the Republic, and it is said that the wealth he brought back from Cyprus alone amounted to seven thousand Talents."

Many people laughed at this, the great Pompey conquered the whole East, and brought back to Rome only 20,000 Tallents, how much booty could a small island nation have?

"The Romans never liked to deceive, I have relatives who served in the legions who know the inside story, and if I pass them back, there will be fakes. So Cato ignored the welcoming crowd and went straight in the direction of the temple. It is to put wealth into the treasury as soon as possible. If you don't believe me, let's check it out right away. ”

The speed of these words spread extremely quickly, and soon the welcoming crowd found a new excitement, that is, to witness whether the seven thousand Tallents brought back by Cato the Younger were really true, and many of them bet on each other, and thousands of citizens soon crowded the high ground and square next to the Saturnalia, and they had no reason to be unhappy - if the Seven Thousand Talents were brought back, then there would soon be a huge sword slave race, a car race, and a large gratuitous reward for the poor, Julius. Caesar and Gnaeus before it. Didn't Pompey do all this, and Cato the Younger should not be an exception!

When the long procession began to walk from the dock to the street of the Saturnalia, the people cheered with excitement when they saw this huge battle, and sure enough, the previous rumors were true, so many wooden cabinets, full of coins, could not be carried in a day and a night, and there were really seven or eight thousand talents.

When little Cato came down from the royal flagship, he sighed when he saw the filth, crooked and narrow streets of Rome and the welcoming crowd in their faces, "I have been away for more than a year and I have returned, and Rome is still so ugly." With that, he took Brutus and Cassiyo and walked to the temple of the god of agriculture amid the cheers of the crowd.

Sure enough, in front of the porch of the Saturnalia in the sunset, Claudius, Barsatus, Ebro and others were all dressed in robes, standing there, watching the arrival of little Cato and others with false smiles, while on the other side were his father-in-law Felipas, friend Cicero and others, who were blocked by a mob outside the boundaries of the Saturnalia.

"It's the greatest miracle, isn't it? I knew that you could do it, and I did not let you go to Cyprus in the first place. Claudius opened her arms and walked down the steps, and warmly tried to hug little Cato, but Brutus pushed him away, "Wow, this is not friendly, my dear philosopher friend, when your wife was in Rome, I cared for her well, and told my servants to bring medicine. Claudius raised her hands in the air and said with a non-smiling smile.

"Is the medicine provided by Sister Ling? I heard that she was well off in the districts of Baie and Subura. Brutus shot back.

"Don't do that, I'm grateful to the tribunes for meeting me as a sinner at the temple, and there are some delicious Cypriot country wines on board, which will be given to you as a small gift at short." As he spoke, little Cato took the initiative to hug Claudius and kiss each other gently. Then Ebro pretended to be more excited than Claudius, and walked down to Cato the Younger, saying, "The whole republic admires your achievements, and we are ready to apply to the Senate through the People's Council, so that you can wear purple trimmed robes in everyday occasions, and there will be an additional seat of the Grand Counsel, which you can hold without having to run for election." ”

Little Cato listened to all this with a modest smile, and at this time, Cicero, who was blocked by the mob, raised his fist and roared, "Little Cato, my friend, don't believe their tricks, Claudius this villain is now a reservoir dog, as long as you say a word in the Senate, you can take away his position as tribune and banish him!" Because he wasn't a qualified tribune in the first place, he came to power through an irregular procedure, so be bold and do it, friend! Cicero snorted, "All his documents in Capitol Mountain have been destroyed, and he has nothing to rely on." ”

"I still have to accuse you of burning state documents without permission!" At this time, Claudius also pointed at Cicero and shouted a reprimand, and the scene began to be chaotic.

"That's it!" Cato the Younger said majestically, "I will not accuse any of the tribunes, who are the cornerstone of Roman civil affairs, the overseers and good friends of the Republic, and if Claudius has lost his legitimacy because of the destruction of his documents, does the burning of my loot books mean that I have been doing illegal things on the island of Cyprus this year?" (To be continued......)