Ilcoraggioèildisprezzodellamorteedeldolore (Courage is contempt for death and suffering)

- Tacitus (Roman historian)

Oscar quickly left the barracks after sending the love letter and boarded the battleship again; This time, all the generals remained in Sardinia, and only Licini returned to Rome with Quintus and Oscar. In a hurry, the whole fleet began to sail very quickly; Gatsea also led his own fleet for the first round of escorts for Oscar.

The boring sailing trip made Oscar feel bored, so he asked Quintus to chat with him; The topic of the two is naturally inseparable from this triumphal ceremony. When Oscar asked Quintus if he wanted to get the Triumph, Quintus immediately said that Oscar was in the midst of a blessing. You know, Scipio the Elder, the father of Quintus, did not receive a triumphal victory after defeating the Carthaginians from the Mediterranean, until he became the "conqueror of Sicily".

In Rome, the triumphant generals were called triumphants and had the right to retain the title for the rest of their lives. After his death, whenever his family held a funeral, an actor would be hired to wear his death mask and wear the same purple and gold-embroidered toga that he had worn at the triumphal ceremony, as a sign of his achievements during his lifetime.

Needless to say, for the Romans, the triumphant generals were the greatest commanders of the Republic; It is a person who the people can trust their lives to him with confidence. And for the generals of Rome, to be able to obtain a triumph in their lifelong military career is the most dazzling honor for themselves and their families. If it weren't for the crisis the republic faced this time, Oscar would never have been able to triumph so easily; Oscar also admitted this.

On the evening of 29 September, after five days of slow sailing, Oscar's fleet finally reached the open sea of the Latin port; Two transports loaded with gold, silver and jewels also joined Oscar's fleet. Immediately, the whole fleet sped towards the harbor; At this time, although it is already nightfall, the whole port is still brightly lit.

The Republic Fleet, which was responsible for escorting the Oscar fleet, informed the port of the imminent docking of the Oscar fleet one step ahead of time, in order to welcome the heroes of the Republic and the new legendary commander-in-chief; The whole port spontaneously mobilized to see Oscar. When the twin warships flying the banner of the leaders of the House of Augustus slowly came to rest on the mooring, and Oscar himself took Quintus and Licinius to the deck in full armor; The entire port became a sea of cheers, and the cheers of Long Live Oscar resounded in the sky.

This was followed by one ship, four in a row of prisoners and soldiers, two in a row of gold, silver and jewels, and six in a row of wine...... In short, the lucrative loot that Oscar brought back convinced everyone that Oscar had indeed won a great victory outside; The seemingly imposing soldiers of the First Legion also made the porters of the port and the people who came from nearby feel safe.

For the last few days, the people of Rome have lived in the shadow of the possibility of Hannibal's attack; Now, the newly baked Lord Oscar, the Triumphant of the Republic, has returned to Rome with his mighty legions, which has undoubtedly relieved the fearful. Of course, that's not to say that the Oscars and the First Legion are really good; It's just that the propaganda of the Senate is really in place.

When everything had been unloaded, Oscar, in order to thank the laborers for their free porterage and the people in the vicinity for their kindness, announced that everyone present would receive a bottle of wine (one barrel = 30 bottles). and declares that these fine wines are the spoils of war taken from the hands of the Carthaginian nobility; A trophy that belonged to all the Romans!

This near-bribery brought the atmosphere of the port to its peak, and these ordinary people and port laborers had never drunk wine that belonged only to the aristocracy; This is beyond everyone's reach on weekdays. Now, General Oscar is giving these precious wines directly to everyone; It was also stated that this was the trophy of all the Romans, which made everyone's favorability of Oscar skyrocket, and the cry for Oscar once again sounded.

After distributing the wine promised by Oscar, the entire triumphal procession rested in the barracks prepared in advance by the Senate; Nothing was said all night. Early the next morning, the procession was to march slowly towards the city of Rome, escorted by the First Legion; According to the scheduled itinerary, today Oscar will lead the soldiers to the military camp outside the city of Rome and rest in the military camp for the night. Tomorrow, October 1st, at seven o'clock in the morning, Oscar will put the whole team in order in the barracks; From 8 o'clock onwards, slowly enter the city of Rome and begin a grand triumphal ceremony!

The day of September 30th was spent in a busy hurry; After all, with a large number of prisoners and booty, the whole team marched slowly, and did not reach the military camp outside Rome until nightfall. On this night, countless people couldn't sleep all night; But the thoughts are different. However, time is fair; The dawn of October 1st has finally arrived!

At half past six in the morning, the trumpeters of the First Army sounded the horn of the assembly; The whole barracks was getting busy. Oscar, who was awarded the Triumph Style, painted his face red, wore a triumphal crown, wore a long-sleeved kunika and embroidered toga, and held a scepter; Then he stepped on the triumphal chariot that the Senate had prepared long ago.

Standing on the chariot beside Oscar was a handsome slave from the Senate, who held a golden laurel wreath on top of Oscar's head. The slave would constantly whisper in Oscar's ear during the triumphal ceremony to remind Oscar that he was just a mortal. The troops participating in the triumphal were not armed or armoured, but wore togas and flower crowns. Therefore, the soldiers of the First Army must change their clothes in advance.

After everything is ready, it is time to organize the ranks outside the barracks; The procession at the triumphal ceremony is generally very long, and the usual order of the triumphal procession is as follows: two senators of the Senate, led by the chief who does not bring subordinates, walk at the head of the triumphal procession; Sixteen trumpeters formed a phalanx of horizontal and vertical squares and followed the patriarchs; Then there was the trophies, for the twenty open carriages in front were full of gold, silver and jewels, and the thirty in the back were barrels of wine from Sardinia.

Then there is the white bull for sacrifice; weapons and insignia used by Hamaca, Governor of Sardinia and Legion; It was supposed to be followed by the vanquished chieftains and their relatives, as well as other prisoners of war. But because Hamaka had been killed in battle, his relatives were in Carthage, North Africa; So, only 1,000 prisoners were listed. Next were Oscar's servants as commander-in-chief, sixteen fascist warriors wrapped in laurel sticks.

Behind the fascist warrior was Oscar himself, who stood on a chariot drawn by four horses, greeting all the people of Rome and receiving blessings from the Roman people; Behind Oscar should be his adult son and adjutant, corps commander, meritorious general, etc., but because Oscar himself is not married, only Licinius and Quintus and the five captains of the First Army are arranged. Finally, there were the soldiers of the First Legion, all of whom carried placards with slogans describing Oscar. Oscar's slogan is: I come, I see, I conquer!

After the team was finished, the bell rang at eight o'clock; The triumphal celebration officially began. Oscar was waiting in the Champ de Mars beyond the Thurville Wall, and soon he would enter the city of Rome through the Triumphal Gate, which only opened during the triumphal ceremony. Theoretically, he should have surrendered command of the army at the same time as he entered the walls of Rome. But not anymore, because the Oscars will be there after the triumph.

At the gates, Oscar met the senators and other prefects who were waiting there, who would join Oscar in the triumphal ceremony. Since the procession was to follow a strict route through the city of Rome, Oscar would only have to wave to the cheering crowd on his chariot, and the rest of the senate would take care of it. After the opening of the triumphal arch, the whole procession began a slow procession; The avenues of Rome had been cleared, but the numerous crowds on both sides gave the marching soldiers the warmest cheers and applause.

When Oscar's chariot drove into the Arc de Triomphe, the atmosphere was completely ignited; Countless cheering crowds shouted the name of Oscar and the name of the family of Augustus. Naturally, Oscar was also excited by this warm atmosphere; So, Oscar frequently waved to the crowd on both sides, and raised his right hand from time to time to show victory!

Suddenly, Oscar saw Prisca on a high pedestal in the middle of a left-wing crowd; She is with a group of aristocratic ladies watching Oscar and cheering for Oscar. Naturally, Oscar can't snub his fiancée; He put his right hand down, raised his left hand and pointed it in Prisca's direction, clenching his fist tightly. This scene made Prisca on the high platform blush instantly, and the other noble ladies screamed at Oscar's behavior.

The procession starts from the Triumphal Gate and follows the Boulevard de Triumph to the Arena of Flaminius and the Arena of Maximus. Captured local chiefs or generals were often taken to the Tulianum dungeon to be strangled because Hamaka was dead, and the procession only stayed for a moment before moving on. Oscar then walked along the Sacred Avenue to the square and ascended the Capitoline Hill to the end point, the Temple of Jupiter.

On Capitoline Hill, Oscar sacrificed the bull to Jupiter, and then he entered the temple and offered his wreath and scepter to Jupiter to show that he had no ambitions to reign. At this point, the procession part of the ceremony has ended. However, the rest of the celebration will continue. The temple will remain open, incense will be burned on the altar, and soldiers will scatter around the city to celebrate. Finally, the day will end with Oscar offering a dinner to the citizens of Rome and giving a speech.

New monuments are often erected to commemorate the triumphal ceremony, often near the Colosseum. This time it was Oscar, the leader of the House of Augustus, who won the triumph; Therefore, the lion emblem of the House of Augustus became a memento of this triumphal ceremony. After today's triumphal end; The next day, a lion monument is erected near the Colosseum to commemorate Oscar's exploits.