"No wonder you wonder, then, that we have received Caesar's order halfway through, and have turned back to some other pass. It was rushed out of Ochirem, and hey, intercepted and ambushed by several hill tribes on the way, it can be regarded as crossing Negaul and arriving here. At the temporary camp where the Twelfth and Seventh Legions met, Rabinus smiled and explained his doubts to Lybida: sure enough, it was Caesar's order to move, and the governor had already arranged everything, so that the Seventh Legion and the Eleventh Legion would cut out elsewhere and disrupt the way to cut off the Helvetians.

At this time, Rabinus scratched his head and suddenly asked Li Bida, "The Senate has not sent the herald priest of Feziaris yet?" ”

The Priesthood of Feziaris was actually the diplomatic envoy of the Senate, and was responsible for declaring war or making peace with the enemy, while the priesthood of Mars, the god of war, was only responsible for organizing festivals, which was somewhat unprofessional. Rabinus asked, naturally, to test whether Caesar's military campaign against the Helvetians had been approved by the state.

Li Bida shook his head regretfully, and then he saw that Rabinus had a slight change in his face, as if he was on a very illegal military mission. This makes Li Bida a little curious, it stands to reason that Rabinus and Apis are both from the plebeian party, and they all support Caesar in terms of political ideas, but why did they become like this when they heard that the senate had not yet issued a war order?

Forget it, even if I don't accept this chief lieutenant (I should be made to be the one in three years), but the Helvetians have 300,000 horses in front of them, and I have to cooperate with him wholeheartedly. Lybidaeus comforted the other party and said. Himself and Chief Alobrogis are familiar. He can let the other party come forward as an intermediary. Ask the surrounding Gallic tribes, such as Aedui and Secongny, to send emissaries to us, and we will reaffirm the Republic's obligation to protect these tribes.

"But I have heard that the Helvetins are also using diplomatic means to win over these tribes as allies, and if the Helvetians succeed, we will have no excuse or need to pursue them further, this is just a normal migration of peoples, and the Chosen Father will not agree to punish them with the wrath of Mars." Rabinus was a little emotional.

But Li Bida didn't care, he just said. Since His Excellency the Governor needs war, he will get what he wants.

At this time, he saw that the eyes of Rabinus looking at him were even more complicated.

By the time Caesar's army arrived, he now had five legions in his hands, always following the Helvetian tribe along the north bank of the Rhône, and receiving many abandoned children and old people on the road every day.

"The other side may be beginning to run out of food, and the advance team of the whole army must keep a distance of eight Roman miles from them, and must not exceed this distance, otherwise it will be regarded as a retreat from battle." Caesar finished this order without a clear expression. Arrange for the Raiders (Caesar is completely different from Lipida's Patron Tuna, but it may also be because of the barbarian region. It is not at all like fighting in a civilized country like Greece or the East, and you need to bear moral responsibility) directly sell all the old people and children as slaves, so as not to waste the army's small amount of food.

Under the scorching sun of May, hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the opposing sides maintained daily skirmishes and contacts at the foot of the Alps, sweating like rain and twisting and turning, the Helvetians were running with all their might, and the Roman legions were desperately biting. It wasn't until Caesar learned from the weighing officer that the military rations were consumed in this kind of march and that there was at most half a market day's stock, and after these days, the army was really "running out of dry food".

When he camped in the evening, Caesar felt that he could not delay any longer, for every fifteenth day the legion was a "supply day," during which the quartermasters had to distribute the full amount of food, drink, cheese, and fat according to the camp tent (ten men), and now the next supply day was less than two days. Perhaps Caesar, as governor of Gaul, could persuade the soldiers to go hungry and pursue the Helvetians, but he would have to risk being chopped to pieces by the mutinous soldiers. For he himself knew that of the six legions, only the Gallic Tenth Legion and the Illyrian Eleventh and Twelveth Auxiliaries had previously had a subordinate relationship with him, and now there were only two under his command, and there was also an Apis "Lightning Thrower" legion that was still nowhere to be found, and the remaining three regular legions would not buy him at all.

"Two days later, all the provisions of the camp were distributed to the four regular regiments. As for the two auxiliary regiments, do their job well, for example, you can give them the money from the slave trade first, and then postpone the supply day by five to eight days. At the table, Caesar grinded his pen back and forth on the table, but the end of the pen refused to fall on the parchment paper.

Li Bidaus knew that he hesitated, after all, the auxiliaries are also people, and they will also rebel because of hunger and dissatisfaction, and the citizens have swords in their hands, are they all sticks in their hands? "Your Excellency the Governor, I would like to know how much money the slave trade has made these days."

Seeing Lybida's question, Caesar showed him the account book of the scale-keeper, and after a cursory look at it, he said that at the present time, it was possible to temporarily stop the pursuit of the Helvitian tribes and build a stable camp, and then send quartermasters with money to buy grain from the other tribes on both sides of the Rhône, and to ask the Senate to allocate the war budget as soon as possible—we cannot count on all the spoils.

"What if the Helvetians are allowed to enter the Sekhoni Gap?" Caesar said.

"It doesn't matter, we chased the Helvetians to the end of our life before, and our goal has been achieved." "Before passing through the Sequani Gorge, the Helvetis had to pass through several large other tribes, and even if they had reached some kind of no-war agreement at the chieftain level, it would be more difficult to control the 300,000 men who had no raids on their way than to ascend to the sky," said Lybida. "Actually, Li Bida has long understood Caesar's intentions, but he has to tell all the legion generals through his mouth, Caesar is the governor after all, and he is not good at saying some dark plans.

"You mean, once the Helvetians raid the surrounding tribes, we will have to take on the obligation to defend ourselves with the Roman allies?" Caesar turned the hook pen in his hand twice, and then said to Lybidaeus, "Many of the heroes I brought this time are more familiar with the Gallic region, and I remember you too, and you seem to have a good relationship with some of the Alobrogis tribe."

"Yes, therefore, please sit in camp, raise sufficient food and equipment from all sides, and wait for the Edouis, Sejuni, or Alobrogis to send messengers to us against the Helvitis!" Lybidaeus said confidently. (To be continued......)