Augustus Road

"Go back, Etrunia and Fesule, because there are too many dead people and feces, a plague has broken out and must be sealed off." A centurion on the sentry post said to the representative of the business group with an expressionless face. arrive.

"But..." The representative was about to say something angrily.

"Go away!" The centurion was impatient and slapped the hilt of his sword viciously, indicating that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. If he continued to pester him, he would talk to him.

In the corner of the military market in Fesulay, in the open space in front of the temple, several military slaves had erected a large wooden sign. Karabis and a few people were sitting on the long table in front of them, with special bronze plaques hanging in front of them. , the citizens, or knights, who had been specially allowed in because of the agreement in advance, were enthusiastically making quotations and bidding for various properties, while Habaruka was quickly recording, transcribing, and calculating on the papyrus next to him. This little guy is indeed a descendant of the Phoenicians. He is very good at keeping business accounts and uses the unique shorthand method of the Phoenicians, which is fast and accurate.

At this speed, Calabis quickly sold off all the farms, properties and other things according to the pre-arranged plan, and stamped the seal of the Legion Committee on each document and contract one by one.

This seal, under the condition that all the heads of the Guarantee Corps receive a generous commission, is entrusted to Calabis with full authority to use it for two to three days. Neruda and others all pretended not to know, because soldiers do not like long-term business. They only need hot money, and the hotter the better, so every time a transaction is completed, Karabis and the others must immediately hand over a 10% commission, living cash, to this group of warriors.

Even so, it was still a huge profit. Thousands of resettlement veterans in Etrunia, including the indigenous people, all lost their lives, families and industries in this civil war. This was because they were involved with Catiline. The price together. At the auction, all ownerless properties are very cheap. A medium-sized and well-equipped farmhouse costs only 700 to 1,000 dinars. A pond costs 200 dinars. A house with a yard may cost only 500 dinars. Ten dinars, even the fully equipped essential oil workshop only fetched a price of thirteen hundred dinars. Buying at a lower price, buying property, or selling at a higher price are all very cost-effective. Habaluka was still writing tirelessly on the scroll at the end of the day!

It was not until the third day, when less than a quarter of the ownerless property was left, that the wooden fence on the Etrunian border was attacked by other angry business groups, and there were some signs that it could not hold on. These shrewd people The businessmen seemed to vaguely know the inside story of the dirty transactions. They also hired a large number of ruffians, and they openly had noisy conflicts with the legionnaires. Many people began to climb over the fence desperately.

"This is a terrible riot, and it must be resolved as soon as possible." Claudius stood behind the wooden fence, braving the insults and trash thrown on his helmet, and shouted to Calabis.

"Line up and fight them back."

Claudius shouted, "You are crazy, this is a merchant group, not an enemy army."

"Then open a road and let these people in." Karabis spat, and called the soldiers around him to quickly set up a military market platform. Then he stood on it and shouted, "I am the weigher in charge of military supplies." Officer, there are still residual epidemics in the city. You can’t go further. If you need to trade and auction, just deal with it here. I will be in charge here. "

The group of merchants and clerks, like a brave death squad, poured in through the gap in the blockade and surrounded the military market platform of Calabis. While shouting curses, they asked loudly what Etrunia needed to auction. industry.

"I have four mines and seventeen ironworks workshops here. They are fully equipped and can produce swords, armor and agricultural tools of excellent quality. They are even better than the products of the Celts. Everyone must understand that Etrunia The most precious specialty is this black 'gold'." After the introduction, Calabis quickly opened the door.

"You are still crazy, completely crazy. I remember these things. You said before that Crassus had ordered them. Do you dare to sell his things?" Claudius took Calabis' arm and said, Whispered.

"What can I do? These people are squeezing in and there's no way to stop them." Calabis kept throwing the contract and money bag into the big box with a wronged expression on his face, "You have to believe that in this situation, Karabis As a dignified inspector, Su has a way to solve this problem."

In the end, a group of people in the legion got rid of the matter - when the supervisor personally appointed by Cato the Younger came to Etrunia angrily, he saw such a bad situation, went around in a circle, and said nothing about it. If we don't say anything, the relevant people will be prosecuted for the crime of corruption and fraud.

Neruda and Metra burped and passed the responsibility to Claudius and his gang. Claudius took a sip of wine and passed the responsibility to Calabis, who ate a bite of masa. Bread, but found that there was no one for whom he could shirk his responsibility. As a result, Calabis was ordered by two token officers to temporarily take off his military uniform and return to the court in Rome to face trial.

"Why?"

What's going on? Cato the Younger made such a big fuss this time and wanted to play a small role like me. On the way back to Rome, Calabis was still wondering, "Oh, my wife Poti is probably going to give birth. It's really fatal." , we have to get out of this lawsuit as soon as possible.”

When he stood in front of the court, he not only saw a group of expressionless legal officers and judges, but also Cato and Cicero were present to listen!

This battle is too big.

"Can I get out of this lawsuit?" This is the question that Carabis is thinking about now.

"Your name is Carabis, right? You used to be a freed slave, a slave, and now you are serving in the legion?" The chief legal officer asked first, looking down on him.

"Yes, please allow me to report. I am still the hero of this battle. Your Excellency, I snatched the Cimbri Eagle Flag from Catiline's army." As soon as Carabis said this, the jury and the audience were in an uproar.

Cicero sneered, and then said something to Cato the Younger. Cicero's slave Tyro next to him quickly recorded the words of the two and handed them to the legal officer.

"Yes, you are a hero of the battle, but you are also a greedy money-making expert and a broker. You sneaked into the legion because you got the instructions of Crassus and Caesar to seek personal interests in the war." The legal officer's questioning immediately made Carabis understand in his heart, but he remained calm and spread his hands hoping to see relevant evidence.

Cicero, unable to contain himself, stood up excitedly, regardless of his status as consul, and waved for relevant people to come in. He laid out the evidence in front of Carapis, and then began to question him: "Since you have naturalized as a Roman citizen, you should be honest. This is the basic virtue of any citizen. Now, lift up your hair and show it to everyone present, Carapis?" (To be continued.)