Augustus Road

"What is the use of your show of hands? It's all so thoughtless, so chaotic, and you are all the scum of the country." - Cicero's attack on the Assembly in "A Vindication of Flaccus"

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Subsequently, the Claudians were completely different from their previous pig-out style, but continued to form a phalanx of wooden spears to surround the gladiator school.

Then there were people behind the spear array, constantly using simple projectiles to fire canisters of fire. In the continuous fire and explosions, the iron grille in front of the archway door was caught in the sea of ​​​​fire, guarding the corners there. The fighters couldn't stand the heat and poisonous smoke. There were figures running and crawling around in every room. Niela, who had no choice but to do anything, was protected by several guards and ran out of the secret door towards the Capitol Mountain. Run, as long as he escapes there, someone will naturally protect him.

At this time, someone from the Claudius party held a wicker shield to cover the people from the locksmiths' guild, and slowly approached the iron gate of the arcade where the fire was still burning. Then the people from the guild stretched out their straight-hook sickles. , with a light pull, the gate was opened with many openings. Everyone swarmed in and quickly occupied the gladiator school, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In this critical battle, the Claudius party won a complete victory, averting the humiliation of the previous defeat. But Niella escaped, which made the tribune who was still recovering from his injuries in the Temple of the Goddess of Virtue very unhappy. He decided to continue the pursuit of victory and do something big, killing Triali, the man behind the gladiator school. Beat them all.

So he went to "Ambrose" to discuss the matter and asked him to send more legionnaires to participate. There are still regular soldiers joining. Only in a fight can victory be guaranteed. But Amber Rhodes refused. If too many soldiers get involved in this matter, the Senate and the People's Assembly will find out sooner or later. If Triali or Ignatius gets the handle, my triumphal ceremony will be ruined, and the gain will not be worth the loss.

Finally, "Ambroades" suggested that this kind of matter should be completely left to the street gangsters of the Claudian Party to cool down for the time being. Make a small fuss, and then take advantage of the Triali faction to gather together, seize the main information, and deal with them together.

According to such subordinates, on the next market day, the Claudians and the Trialists began to engage in fierce street battles at various street corners and assembly halls. Some were public speeches and debates, some directly staged full-scale martial arts, and some took advantage of the opportunity. Arson and looting. Subura district was the worst affected, with 80% of the houses burned down. The Caesar's house was spared thanks to the protection of fifty gladiators and armed slaves hired by Lepidus.

Cato the Younger and Cicero put aside their past grievances and repeatedly called for severe punishment of these professional gangsters in public. As a result, not only did they not play any useful role, but they "harvested" a lot of bricks and sword blades. During the speech, the two men threatened loudly, "In the past, I just burned your mansion and drove you out of Rome. If you don't know the current affairs again, I will deprive you of the lives of your whole family!" Cicero was timid and retreated to the Palatine within a few days. In Shan's restored mansion, he claimed that he had escaped from the world and devoted himself to studying philosophical issues. Only Cato the Younger was upright and fearless. He was still shouting at the Temple of Concord: Look at the bloody farce on the streets of Rome now. This is actually ringing the death knell for the Republic. If the masses are used by warlords and careerists, then we are warned that we must Instead of aiding the tyrants, we must make up our minds to modify the election procedures so that vote-buying and vote-buying can't be hidden.

But Lepidus also secretly invited the knights to the Villa Prima and held a secret emergency meeting. Under his instruction, Boyannis had become a standard "double agent." Cicero gave him 500 drachmas, and Lepidus Just stuffing a thousand, reselling true and false information back and forth became his specialty, so when Cato proposed a motion to amend the election procedures, Lepidus responded immediately. Dozens of representatives of the knights who occupied important positions attended the meeting. He seemed to have already He replaced Crassus, the former Lord of the Dark Night, and encouraged everyone, "You want to know what conditions we knights rely on to make a fortune? It is to be attached to the powerful, exchange contract projects from them, or go to the province to work as a Tax collector. But now I heard that Cato the Younger wanted to change the law and even claimed that during the election of consuls and tribunes, knights are strictly prohibited from giving any money to candidates, and candidates are also prohibited from giving any gifts to the people. It is not difficult to imagine how the interests of the people and us will be ensured if this motion becomes law. Now someone wants to clarify the water in the entire fish pond, but!" As he spoke, Li Bida tapped his fingers heavily. The tabletop made a sound like gold and stone, which was exciting. "Everyone knows it. I know it very well. Take Prima's fish pond, which is the best in the whole city of Rome, as an example. How can we raise fat and strong fish ponds if the water quality is too cold?" fish?"

Immediately, the knight representatives formed an emergency fund and collectively took out five hundred talents. Half of them were used to bribe members of the Senate to raise objections during the motion, and the other half were given to the Claudian followers. Provide material incentives and ask them to work harder on the streets.

In the Pompeian villa in Alba, Cato the Younger and Triari, as well as many Pompeian generals and parliamentarians, also gathered here. "We must come up with money. You must know that now there is a republic and a dictatorship." The decisive battle is also a life-and-death battle between you and Caesar in the city of Rome. If you do not fight behind closed doors at this time, then Claudius will completely become the king of Rome. Caesar will have an army outside to support him, and all justice and peace will be eliminated. Completely subverted." These words were not proposed by Cato the Younger, but by Triari, who captured the psychology of the great and vain Pompey very well and pointed the finger at the conflict between him and Caesar. Pompey was also in a dilemma. His wife, Julia, Caesar's daughter, had a longer pregnancy period than any other woman. The priests of the temple of the goddess Isis performed a divination on this fertility behavior and came to the conclusion that "The white cloth brings the true greetings of the Mother Goddess."

This kind of unknown prophecy made Pompey very annoyed. After a long and painful wait, he was determined to cut through the mess with a knife. In addition, the chief slave Demetrius was also secretly encouraging him, "You are now The real danger is not Cato, but Caesar. He now has more than ten elite legions in Gaul, and now there is no Crassus to weigh in. We are already in the same situation as the opponent, so it is better to strike first. My The plan was to first eliminate his agents Claudius and Lepidus in the city, then join forces with Cato the Younger to pass the laws of the Republic, kill him, disband his legions, declare his war illegal, and escort him back to Rome He came to the city to be tried, and then Cicero had him nailed, and like the second Catiline, he and his forces were completely strangled.”

"If this is the case, I am willing to spend eight hundred talents to urge the passage of this motion." Pompeo responded generously, and even Cato was overjoyed. (To be continued...)