Caesar did not break his promise, and at the private banquet held for him by Pompeii, he became the undisputed protagonist, and his charm impressed all the men present, as well as the women.

Caesar was the best descendant of the Julius family, he was born into a nobleman, he had excellent cultivation and learning, and at the same time, his military exploits made him famous, and the prestige of slaughtering the Gallic barbarians made him look awe-inspiring in front of everyone, which also made those women with spring hearts fascinated.

Soon, before the feast was halfway through, Caesar had hooked up with the daughter of a senator, and the two of them had a good time in the room at first sight, and when they were satisfied, the woman agreed to Caesar's request to speak well for her father in front of her.

At the very end of the feast, Caesar raised his glass and announced to all those present: "From the third day onwards, the gladiatorial arena, which I personally financed, will be held in Rome, and this series of festivities will last for a month!" ”

Everyone was cheering for the generosity of the Gallic governor, but Pompeii, the owner of the place, was worried.

Sure enough, three days later, the costumed city of Rome ushered in its greatest moment in more than a decade, and all the people flocked to the arena in anticipation of a grand celebration.

Caesar sat in a chariot and was escorted by his own guards to the arena, where he was again cheered by the populace. Countless petals were scattered all over his body, and he smiled and waved to the people, his eyes full of smugness.

When the arena was filled with spectators, a dozen horse-drawn carts suddenly appeared, cruising around the stands, loaded with heavy boxes, which were opened by slaves on board, and the crowd erupted in exclamation, because the boxes were full of gold coins.

The slaves grabbed the gold coins with both hands and tried to scatter them in the stands, which made the spectators even more frenzied, and ordered them to bend down to pick up the gold coins, and even snatched them from each other, which caused a great chaos in the scene.

All this is the scene that Caesar wanted to see.

The spectators who received the gold coins stood up and shouted, "Great Caesar, long live Caesar." ”

And Caesar also sat in the stands and waved to the crowd.

A senator whispered to Pompey, "Why didn't you kill him?" ”

Pompey said: "He has won the hearts and minds of the people, and if we kill him, we will be enemies of all Rome." ”

The councillor said indignantly: "But he cannot be so arrogant, his 100,000 Gallic regiments are stationed outside the city. ”

Pompey said confidently: "In a few days he will go to the south, and what awaits him is his last word." ”

The councillor asked: "Where you are not afraid that the saliva of the Romans will drown you." ”

Pompey smiled and said, "Let him stay away from Rome, disappear from the public eye, and let him be caught up in a long-running war, and the populace will soon forget about him, and then my army of the South will destroy him." ”

The councillor exclaimed: "This is a civil war, the Roman Republic has seen something that has not happened in hundreds of years, and the Romans are going to kill the Romans?" ”

Pompey said, "This is the way to destroy him." ”

The MP asked: "Is there any other way?" ”

Pompey pointed to the prisoners of war who were being slaughtered in the arena and said to the councillors: "If you are merciful to him, it won't be long before you will end up with the slaves below." ”

A month later, the cold sea breeze drove waves crashing against the port of Arethion. An Egyptian merchant fleet of twenty sea-going ships docked at the docks before daybreak. The slaves, whipped and cursed by the overseers, began to load the ship's cargo in droves and carry it to the city in bullock carts. With the exception of a small amount of spices and fine purple dye, the rest of the shipment was iron ore, which Rome needed most. Egyptian merchants with pointed hats stood on deck and Roman merchants waiting for them were arguing loudly in Greek about prices. These annihilators from all over the world are engaged in an endless contest for their own interests.

Caesar, wrapped in a thick Toga robe, wandered around the docks with a blank face. Two days earlier he had ordered Antony and his good intentions Brutus to lead almost all the men of the Gallic Legion north to capture Patavien and Medioranum. Only one of him and a few poor city defense troops were left in the territory of the Julius family.

Two days earlier, he had just arrived in Aretion from Rome, and he had received a new assignment from Pompeii to stop the Macedonian attack. Now in his fifties, he knew that his present work was far more important than the war in the north.

Although he had 100,000 regular Roman troops, these 100,000 were not wooden men, they needed food and weapons, and after Rome was unwilling to pay enough gold for his crusade, he had to figure it out on his own. In addition, he also had to prepare for his own further plans, all of which Yang Rui taught him to do.

It's a lot of work. Although the construction of the barracks could be completed in the spring, there were still a lot of clueless things that upset people. Armament is even more tricky due to the scarcity of iron ore. Rome was a region where iron ore was scarce. Most of the metal needed for other industries, such as armies and construction, is imported from overseas, making the metal the second most expensive item after purple dye. The political axe had to hand over a large amount of Silver Tylen to his destroyers who had a lot of ore resources. And they cheat on both sides and make huge profits from it. This makes it more difficult to craft a suit of armor than to deliver a baby with a difficult birth.

"Your Excellency, the merchants are already waiting for you in the conference hall." Hu stopped Caesar from Tris. Respectfully reported to his master.

The Great Council Hall was filled with the noble merchants of the city, about three hundred people, who were the most powerful elite merchants in the entire Julius family territory. Today they were summoned to the Doge's Palace, awaiting the latest orders from Caesar, the temporary supreme governor.

Caesar walked into the conference hall alone, which added some depression to the already somewhat dreary atmosphere. The people consciously gave way and watched Caesar walk past them with humility, and the anxiety in their hearts overflowed.

All the Romans were in awe of this excellent descendant of the Julius family. He was not as amiable and approachable as Pompeii. Whenever such a meeting is held, the hall is always filled with a joyful and peaceful atmosphere. Pompeii would greet everyone he knew and shake hands cordially. Talk a lot about what's happening lately. even ridicule someone's wife and judge her character. It was only after a burst of laughter that the conversation was brought to the point. (To be continued.) )