Augustus Road

After the Battle of Masseria, Lepidus' fleet was completely transformed into a phoenix, with a strong force: thirty-five large three-row warships with through-decks, fifty-four double-row or single-row light assault ships, and Hundreds of transport ships sailed around the entire Spanish Sea, and no one from Pompeii dared to stop them! Except for the full army and the Martian cavalry, all the crew and oarsmen are the bravest, strongest and most experienced warriors recruited from the East, Liguria, Sardinia and other places. ?. .

So when this large and sophisticated fleet appeared at the tower island outside Cadiz, Lepidus issued an order on the "Calabiya" flagship, not to act rashly and to give the opportunity to intimidate the enemy to the fleet at sea.

This is also his strategy: Don't let the enemy know that we actually only have a new army, and let a more powerful and comprehensive fleet carry out the task of defeating the enemy without fighting.

Originally, Varro gave the city of Cadiz a task, which was to use all the city's financial resources to build ten large ships. The neighboring island of Hisparis also shouldered the burden of six warships. This burden made the two The city's Presbyterians were all complaining, and now Lepidus sudden appearance of the fleet from the sea gave them a sense of urgency about where to go. Galonius on the city walls and towers was horrified to see many enemy soldiers carrying spears and shields galloping back and forth freely between the "ship ramparts". Then there were several loud and strange noises, and he found that the tower around him began to shake and collapse - on the three-story rowing boat, Lepidus sailors used a large ship-borne ballista called the "Lady of Masseria", which was originally Densely installed on the city of Masseria, they could launch huge wooden poles. Destroy the fortifications of the Acropolis.

Now that the city of Masseria has been razed, many of the stones on the city wall have been transformed into stone bullets, and eight of these ballistae have been imitated. Installed on some ships, they are now floating in the center of the blockade, facing the great flames of Cadiz City-a wooden pole twelve Roman feet long, with its head covered with uneven thick iron, carrying A strange whistling sound passed over the water. They were wedged deeply into the violently shaking towers one by one. One shot after another. They quickly occupied the city hall, and then asked Galonius and the six garrison troops to get out of the city immediately to avoid damaging the city. Many people had already heard about Masseria's fate. "This is a fight between you and Caesar, and our province has always been pro-Caesar and pro-General Lepidus. This kind of war has nothing to do with us!"

When Galonius saw the city wall that was beaten like an old woman's mouth, he immediately replied to the Council of Elders, "On behalf of the supreme commander of the place, I am willing to surrender to General Lepidus and hand over Varro's hoard here. The key to supplies!”…

After reaching an agreement, the city of Cadiz quickly sent envoys to negotiate the surrender. To show their sincerity, Galonius and the soldiers of six brigades lined up in the square behind the trestle without carrying any weapons to welcome Lepidus. When the general entered the city, he took with him three hundred elders.

The first to come ashore was the chief group of the Sixth Legion of Angandinus. They ordered Galonius to take them to the warehouse in the city. As a result, they quickly found 190,000 sesterces. Of course, this was just money. , and two thousand pounds of fine silver, plus 120,000 bushels of dates...

"Varro believes that dates are good food for the army. This fruit is not only delicious, but also very sweet. It can be carried as preserved fruit. Soldiers eating it can also cure diarrhea and other marching diseases." In front of the warehouse, when the soldiers and the treasurer began to count the loot, Facing Lepidus on his mount, Galonius explained expertly.

"No, I want to ask you, since Varro has hoarded so much food and property in this place, and then he took the main force to the city of Corduba in a different direction, how to solve the problem of supplies?" Lepida loudly said Continue to ask.

Galonius shook his head and expressed that he was also puzzled. Lepidus clapped the riding crop in his hand and said, "This man's military ability is simply incredible."

Soon, the soldiers cheered again. It turned out that they had found priceless spices, works of art, and gold and silver jewelry in the room adjacent to the warehouse. Lepidus asked Galonius again which temple they had obtained them from. Come because the treasurers found poppy seeds, ointment and other things inside.

The other party explained that Varro should have moved it from the most magnificent Temple of Mercury not far from here before the war. When the temple priests refused, Varro arranged a "fornication with Caesar" for them. After being tortured, all the belongings in the temple were stolen.

"It's just stupid behavior to support the enemy." Lepidus complained in his heart, and then pointed to the pile of goods and said to Paulus, because he was the financial officer of his subordinates, "Take one third of it for safekeeping first. , this is the portion I promised Combano; then a third was given as a gift to various provincial towns that suffered from the abuses of Pompey's party; and a third was immediately distributed to the soldiers and crews of the Sixth Legion, And they started to recruit soldiers, saying that General Lepidus, the former "conqueror of Orcressi", was back again and wanted to conquer the city again. Also, soldiers were not allowed to touch the temple's treasures, and any offenders would be killed immediately. Please forgive me and return them all to the Great Temple of Mercury after our army is stabilized."

This place is different from Masseria, a city that Lepidus had no connection with. After all, he and Caesar had a good reputation in Lusitania, so the burning, killing and looting were not allowed in this province. Lepidus originally thought that the Sixth Legion was newly established and should be timid, but there was still a centurion who didn't believe it and stole something from the temple, a mural inlaid with gold, and destroyed it, digging out the gold nuggets on it. The next day, his bloody head was hung on the lighthouse of Cadiz Harbor, so that everyone could see the consequences of disobeying orders. )