Augustus Road

The sun was shining everywhere, and Lepidus stood proudly on the high platform of the school field. There were nearly 30,000 troops under him. Many of the soldiers who were defeated during the period had panic and shame on their faces, because according to Roman military law, In this way, they will be deprived of their military and citizenship status, and the culprits will also receive iron-clad treatment.

Now everything depends on this commander from a foreign race. Even if they want to escape or resist, their weapons have been lost in the desert. At this time, Lepidus has already spoken: "Seeing the dust on your bodies, you should be in this damn place." You have been tortured in the desert, and although you fought hard, you still failed to break through the siege of the Parthian barbarians, and your general and consul, the governor, died while negotiating with the enemy. "

When a centurion of the defeated army heard this, he couldn't bear it and broke down first, bursting into tears.

This kind of statement was convicting, but Li Bida quickly changed the subject, "I have investigated clearly. At that time, the Governor went to the enemy camp alone to negotiate. As for whether he signed the surrender treaty on the document, I'm sorry I don't know. No one present can prove it, but -" As he spoke, Lepidus took out Crassus' cloak, rings, seals and other relics one by one. "The indirect evidence confirms that your team did not surrender to the enemy, because all the necessities, They were all handed over to me as relics by the governor's retinue, so I can say that although the governor died, this battle is not over yet. Surena is now defeated by me, and there is no authorizing document to determine the end of this war until A new governor of Syria has taken office, so your actions are not considered betrayal or mutiny.”

Just after the defeated soldiers cheered, Lepidus suddenly changed his mind again, "But you are still responsible for the death of Crassus, because Longinus Cassius, the treasurer, is still in Antioch, so the front line here is the highest. The commander is my agent, and I have the right to punish you for your dereliction of duty and mistakes."

The mood of the entire school suddenly became gloomy again, and then Lepidus gathered Crassus's followers. The fascist holding a bunch of sticks announced the so-called punishment decision, "The subordinates who remained here when Crassus was overthrown, whether they are tribunes, centurions, or ordinary soldiers, will immediately be deprived of their military service status because of your loss. The former consul lost his life due to his responsibility. As for whether there is any legal punishment, it must wait until the Senate of the Republic promulgates the relevant decision through the Centurion or the People's Assembly. At this time, I have not received the relevant decree, so No one will be punished by deprivation of life, and neither I nor Lord Coponius have this power. I will distribute severance pay and travel expenses to everyone, and everyone can return to Sinaka on their own along the way to Calais City in the near future. City, and then go to Zhucoma to await further orders from Cassio, the treasurer."

This was Lepidus' punishment, and Coponius next to him was instantly angry. But it was also impeccable. Thousands of defeated soldiers were expelled from the team, but they did not lose their status as citizens. This was already a huge thank you. In addition, during the demobilization process, Li Bida gave everyone a very generous fee. Together, each person received an average of two thousand drachmas. It was as if they were not defeated soldiers, but returned triumphantly to Rome, and quite a few ships had been arranged in the city of Antioch to carry them to Cyprus.

Cassius, who fled back to the city of Antioch, was unable to stop these people at all. He wanted to keep them in preparation for the Senate's questioning. However, this group of people viciously surrounded the Governor's Mansion. After making a fuss and smashing it, they took their respective money bags and boarded the ship and sailed away.

As a result, Cassius and Ignatius did not even have the capital to defend Syria in the end. The only ones on hand who could fight were the first battalion of the First Army that had returned from Ikni, and some infantry teams that had come for emergency support from surrounding vassal countries. They could only report the war news to the Senate, and they did not dare to mention the real inside story. , only vaguely emphasizing that Crassus's army either died in battle or fled. Now Antioch lacks manpower, and the Jews in Judea are ready to move. "I can't replace the dead governor and return to Rome four years later." City, at the gate of the Temple of Concord, he reported to six hundred specially selected fathers, "My legion and I are safe and sound." In fact, the elite of the entire province had suffered heavy casualties in the previous battle, and it was said that the entire army was destroyed. There is no exaggeration whatsoever.”

In order to shirk responsibility, Ignatius made a lot of changes in the document. He did not mention the scandal of their escape, but repeatedly discussed in detail Crassus's stupidity in acting on the battlefield, which led everyone into the abyss of destruction. . Therefore, when the terrible news arrived in the city of Rome, it was completely exaggerated and out of shape, "crassus's ten legions, whether regular or auxiliary, had been completely buried in the desert. Tens of thousands of people were killed and the rest were captured. "

In the country house of Alba, Cato the Younger went to see Pompeo in a black coarse mourning dress, and his request was very straightforward: the situation in the Syrian province was very critical, and now the country needed talents and more troops to be stationed there to stabilize the situation. The situation in the East, otherwise no one can bear the responsibility for losing Syria.

Pompey, who had already had a secret agreement with Caesar, hesitated and dodged because in the inner room behind the curtain, Caesar's daughter was caressing her swollen belly happily. Yes, Julia was pregnant. Inside, there were two family politics and conflicts. The result of a fusion of love, the couple were discussing what to name their child and were preparing to announce the good news to the child's grandfather in Gaul, when little Cato broke in.

"I myself cannot take command of the expedition, because I have already enjoyed two great triumphs, and have been granted the highest peace and war power by the People's Association. If the treatment is low this time, the command will not be effective, but if the treatment is higher - I'm sorry, I will be criticized by you as having military dictatorship tendencies." Pompeo's tone was very cold. He didn't even prepare a banquet for Cato, and seemed to ask you to leave immediately after finishing his words.

As a result, before Cato could attack, Demetrius leaned down and whispered to Pompey. Then Pompey's attitude changed. He told Cato, "I will send a legion, and Caesar will send a legion. Go urgently to Syria. As for the commander, I will nominate the tribune Triali, and as for Caesar, let him do as he pleases, and Maximus, the republican fighter who has been blinded by you, I will give him again. Let him eat and command the transport fleet."

"The legion you sent is the Spanish First Legion that was lent to Caesar, isn't it?" Little Cato guessed that this was Pompey's plan. He was trying to seize the opportunity of Crassus's destruction, and actually asked Caesar to take it. Send out two legions (nominally one for yourself and one for Caesar, but these two legions are actually fighting in Gaul) to make up for the shortage in Syria. This can not only quietly weaken Caesar's power, but also during the deployment process, Replace both legions with your own people for easy control.