Queen Cleopatra couldn't help but feel her scalp tingle as she imagined the horrific scene of foreign armies pouring into Alexandria from all directions, just like Kyoto during Japan's Sengoku period, where hundreds of thousands of troops gathered and burned the bustling metropolis.

-- If Alexandria, where the Ptolemaic Dynasty had gathered its best and wealth, had been burned to the ground by hundreds of thousands of troops in the same way as Kyoto during the Warring States period of Japan, then she, the queen of Egypt, would not have been able to go any further.

What makes Queen Cleopatra even more angry, or laughable, is that Caesar and Pompey, who are now biting each other fiercely in the city, even have the leisure to "mediate" the conflict between her and Ptolemy XIII.

“…… As a close friend of the previous king of Egypt, the supreme military commander of the republic, and the guardian of the current king of Egypt, Pompey had the duty and obligation to mediate between him and his queen. He promised to do you as much justice as possible, and hoped that you would not have anything to do with the enemies of the Republic...... I know that when a person is in trouble, even his friends often turn against him. But on the flip side, if you can lend a helping hand to His Excellency Pompey in his most difficult times, you will be rewarded with unimaginable generosity in the future......"

“…… Lord Caesar, as the supreme Roman dictator and conqueror of the entire Shijie, had the supreme right to decide in any of Rome's allies. Therefore, according to your father Auretheus (Ptolemy XII) and your husband Ptolemy? The agreement that Alexander (Ptolemy XIII) had previously signed with the Roman Senate, when they were not in their native land. Caesar, the dictator, would automatically become the supreme ruler of Egypt. Queen Cleopatra, Bixia, I advise you to recognize the reality and obey all Caesar's orders without compromise. To do otherwise is to be hostile to the Roman people and the Roman Senate...... Moreover, Caesar can also legally exercise the same power as his parents in the infighting between you and your brother! According to Caesar's command, you should go with your brother to the tent of our army before him, and he shall make an arbitration without objection or resistance. Do you understand? ”

“…… Lord Pompey expresses his deepest apologies for borrowing your palace and stockpiles without authorization. But I hope you can see the face of his sincere friendship with the former king, and forgive him for the helpless behavior of this sufferer. Don't despise him because he's down. Every drop of wine and every piece of bread taken out of your storehouse can be exchanged for gratitude from His Excellency Pompey and the Roman Republic, which is more precious than gold......"

“…… According to Caesar's orders, you must collect supplies for our army in various farmsteads outside the city before the audience. Raise enough for 5,000 people to eat a month's worth of fresh bread, green vegetables, olive oil, wine, meat and eggs. And then come with these things...... Moreover, the great sum that your father had borrowed from Rome should be repaid as soon as possible, and Caesar was waiting to use it to pay our army......"

“…… Lord Pompey wants your army to be on his side, enter the city of Alexandria as soon as possible, and join us in the crusade against the enemies of the Republic! Now is Caesar's weakest moment, his fleet has been wiped out, and there are only a few thousand remnants of the defeated army around him. There is only one step away from destruction! If this is successful, the Senate of the Republic will give you the richest gift of thanks. Not only will it give you the title of 'Friend of the Roman People and the Roman Senate', but it will also forgive your father's debts accumulated in Rome and even put several eastern provinces back under Egyptian jurisdiction! ”

“…… Caesar didn't ask your army to be used by him, because there was no need for that! But you will not be allowed to help his enemies! Bixia, as it is now known to everyone, that after the Battle of Pharsalus, the defeat of Pompey's party and the Senate aristocracy was decided, and Caesar was bound to become the most powerful man on this shijie...... So, Venerable Queen Bixia, if you can see the situation clearly, you should obey the orders of the Roman dictator. Please don't live up to Caesar's kindness, who can bring you peace and glory as well as war and destruction! ”

In the military tent of Queen Cleopatra, two Roman envoys under Caesar and Pompey were fighting each other like cross-eyed. The difference was that Caesar's emissaries were very arrogant and assumed the face of a commanding superior, while Pompey's emissaries tried their best to make friends and get close to each other, and their words were much gentler - judging by the tone of their voices, Pompey was once again at a disadvantage on the battlefield.

But, however arrogant or mild-mannered their tone was, in the eyes of Queen Cleopatra, these two groups of distant villains who came uninvited and beat their master's house to the ground were all the same hateful.

Eventually, when Caesar's messenger was heard menacing, "Please do not fail Caesar's kindness, he can bring you peace and glory, but he can also bring you war and destruction!" After that, Queen Cleopatra finally couldn't hold back any longer, and the hysteria broke out all at once.

- With her blistered forehead and flushed cheeks, Queen Cleopatra's anger exploded instantly, as if countless hot steam spewed out from the top of her head, raising pistons one after another, ready to be fired with a shrill whistle...... Next, inhale, exhale, charge MAX, and the goal, two shameless Romans! Cleopatra spit cannon, full firepower! Launch!

“…… That's enough! That's enough! You've already brought me war! You liars, robbers, thieves, criminals who live in other people's homes! Put away your false 'goodwill' and hypocritical 'justice'! Under the protection of the gods, my brother and I have already decided the outcome of the war, and there is no need for outsiders to intervene! The only thought on my mind now is to ask you Romans to get out of my capital quickly! ”

She jumped to her feet, crossed her waist with one hand, pointed to the two Roman envoys in the tent with the other, and scolded unceremoniously, "...... Here's my advice to all the Romans in the city who are at war: You have one more day to leave Alexandria, either by land or by sea. Then go wherever you fall in love, and if you want to talk about peace or war, please do it! But don't put the battlefield in Egypt under any circumstances!

I can forgive you for the damage you have done to Alexandria. It is also possible to tolerate Pompey to take away 2,000 capital garrisons without authorization to fight for himself, but that doesn't mean that I can watch you burn the capital to ashes! Now that the rightful owner of the city has returned, you burglars better get out of the way! Otherwise, the same death awaits you! ”

- Suddenly, the tent became silent.

As if she had heard something incredible, Queen Cleopatra jumped up in a huff. After pulling his throat and letting out that arrogant roar, the two Romans in the tent, who were fighting and arguing endlessly, were all stunned at once.

After half a ring. The messenger sent by Caesar was the first to come to his senses, and looked deeply at Queen Cleopatra with rather strange eyes, and then continued to speak in a tone full of arrogance and disdain. “…… What I just said...... Are you serious? All right! Queen Bixia. I will convey your notice to Caesar. But, with all due respect, no king in this shijie has dared to be so rude to the Roman dictator, and no king has been able to keep the crown on Caesar's head after being so rude to him......"

“…… Then now you have one in front of you! Please hurry back and inform Caesar! ”

Queen Cleopatra crossed her arms with a look of arrogance and calmness, "...... I do not accept any form of blackmail and extortion. I won't give you a grain of wheat or a coin! Hurry up and get out! Before I change my mind! Otherwise, I'm ready to demand compensation from both of you! ”

-- This cruel remark released by Queen Bixia of Cleopatra suddenly caused a longer period of coldness.

“…… Hehe. Queen Bixia, as much as I don't want to hit you, your jokes are just too funny. For many years I had only seen the Romans collect tribute from foreigners, and I had never heard of anyone extorting any reparations from the Romans - Hannibal of Carthage did not, Mithridates the Great of Pontus did not, and neither did Sulena of Parthia (the Parthian general who killed Crassus). ”

Hearing this, the messenger sent by Pompey couldn't help but laugh, "...... The last guy who succeeded in extorting ransom from the Romans seems to have been the Gauls who broke Rome more than 300 years ago, but they are now also trampled under the feet of the Romans......"

At this point, he suddenly fell silent, and at the same time glanced at Caesar's messenger, the same one who had conquered all of Gaul after ten years of fighting.

“…… In other words, Rome has always been only in and out of money? Then this rule should probably be changed soon! ”

Queen Cleopatra's beautiful face was still as cold as ice," ...... While I'm in a good mood for the time being, I'll go back to your commander with my Zuihou ultimatum right away! Do you want to be whipped by me, or cut off your nose or ear before you leave? ”

In response to the malicious threat of Queen Cleopatra, Pompey's messenger silently bent down and saluted, and immediately turned and walked out of the tent. Caesar's messenger glared at the queen with eyes as if he were looking at a dead man, and then spoke slowly.

“…… Well, I'll go! After all, I don't have the penchant of being beaten or disabled...... I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield! ”

“…… Oh hehehe, no! You'll only meet me in Hell, and you'll have to patiently soak in the waters of the River Styx for many years! ”

Queen Cleopatra covered her mouth and let out a standard queenly daxiao, but there was no trace of a smile in her eyes.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――

In the city of Alexandria, there was a lot of killing.

From time to time, puffs of red-black smoke drifted through the sky, reminding the farmers on the outskirts and the sailors at sea: the city is at war!

From the time Caesar landed with his army and fought in the streets with Pompey in the city, endless chaos, death and destruction, the complete collapse of the social order, and the raging fire became the sole theme of the city.

Stone projectiles and arrows flew with the sound of breaking through the air, and war drums and bugles replaced the hustle and bustle of the city. The splendid building collapsed in the flames, mutilated limbs and sticky blood spilled down the street. And the people with all kinds of weapons continue to hunt their kind in this burning city.

The palm trees on the side of the street are covered with corpses. Harbors and canals are reddened and clogged by thousands of floating corpses.

Under the scorching sun, the bodies of the deceased quickly decomposed and grew maggots, filling the streets with a disgusting stench of rancidity, as well as lingering crows, wild dogs and flies.

Truth be told, the number of "genuine" Roman armies that are now attacking each other in Alexandria is probably not very large - Caesar's dictator, who has been chasing him thousands of miles from the battlefield of Pharsalus, has only a small army of 4,000 men under his command.

Pompey fled from Greece on a ship. There was not a moment of respite, and even if the armed slaves were counted, the army with them was no more than 2,000 men.

After landing in Alexandria. He persuaded the Roman Overseas Legion in Egypt to join him, but the legion was also severely understaffed, with only 2,000 men in total. Pompey then went on to make various connections in the city through his past connections. A number of mercenaries and street thugs were recruited on an improvised basis. There were even gladiators, who managed to scrape together about six thousand people.

If Pompey had been given more time to take advantage of the Ptolemaic treasury and Alexandria's convenient transportation hub, he might have been able to recruit a few legions in Egypt and equip them and train them rigorously. Unfortunately, he was only in Alexandria for about two days when Caesar's pursuers caught up from behind his ass.

Such a short period of time. Pompey didn't even have time to defend the walls, so much so that Caesar's army rushed into the city in one go.

In a word. At the outbreak of the Battle of Alexandria, Pompey's 6,000 men fought against Caesar's 4,000 men. The combined strength of the two sides was only 10,000, less than a tenth of the total number of troops they had invested in the recent Battle of Pharsalus.

For Alexandria, a megacity of 700,000 people, that number is a little too little.

On paper, Pompey's forces once again seemed to have the upper hand, not to mention that he also controlled a portion of the Egyptian fleet, had absolute naval supremacy, and had a relative home advantage - one step to Alexandria and a calm battlefield layout.

But the problem is that the quality of the armies of the two warring sides is very different: the 4,000 men under Caesar's command are all fierce veterans who have been tempered by years of bloody battles, with a strong will to fight and tacit cooperation with each other; And Pompey's six thousand men on hand were an out-and-out rabble.

At Pompey's side, only about a thousand men were his regular troops who had been withdrawn from the battlefield of Pharsalus, and the other thousand were manor slaves who had been temporarily given weapons—Pompey had some estates and estates in the coastal ports of the eastern provinces, and had purchased a large number of slaves to cultivate and graze for him, and now, as he fled in the twilight of his life, he armed some of the more faithful slaves with him.

The 2,000 Roman soldiers stationed in Alexandria, although they were Pompey's old subordinates, had made many military achievements in Syria, but at this time they had enjoyed peace in Egypt for a long time, and had not fought for many years. Now that he is in a hurry, his combat effectiveness is probably not much stronger than that of a new recruit.

As for the stragglers who were temporarily recruited in the city, they were even more successful than defeated. These guys had no friendship with Pompey and no affection for the Roman Republic. On the battlefield, they were far more interested in looting the shops than in stumbling with the Roman legions.

The most important thing is that in the battle of Alexandria, Pompey's tactical command once again committed the mistake of being overly cautious and indecisive as he did in Greece - he wanted to keep the enemy out of the country, relying on warships to drive Caesar's legions into the sea and drown, but he did not dare to set up an ambush to induce Caesar's fleet to land on the shore, and then caught turtles in urns near the pier, but could not wait to set up an interception in the open sea;

Having judged that Caesar might have landed on the island of Pharos, he deployed defensive forces on the island, but he was reluctant to commit what little elite troops he hastily hastily arranged for some local mercenaries whose combat effectiveness and loyalty were questionable;

He understood that the key to victory or defeat in the battle was to destroy Caesar's living liliang, but he was reluctant to scatter the temples and warehouses scattered throughout the city, as well as the large amount of money and food stored in them......

He always felt that there were too many places in the city that needed to be defended, but the result was that he had greatly thinned out his limited forces, and he could not hold anywhere......

Zuihou, the seemingly dominant forces under Pompey's command, were thrown sporadically on isolated strongholds like pepper noodles, unable to echo each other, and the naval fleet and land forces had no cooperation at all, giving the initiative on the battlefield to Caesar.

So, after the ground battle began, Pompey's hastily pieced together miscellaneous army was quickly divided and surrounded by Caesar's elite veterans, and each one was broken. The naval fleet, which had absolute superiority, wandered around the harbor over and over again, but it was useless in land warfare. Even Pompey himself was besieged in the royal palace in Alexandria, and could only barely hold off Caesar's onslaught with the help of favorable terrain and thick palace walls.

At the same time, with the invasion of the Romans, another increasingly fierce war was also burning in every corner of the city. (To be continued.) )