Augustus Road

"I agree to the surrender of Marcus Varro, the chief executive of Lusitania, and ask him to choose a day to lead the legions in formation, complete the formal ceremony, and hand over the soldier roster and the provincial financial roster.?..." Facing the front When Gaius Gallius came to ask for surrender, Lepidus replied very kindly and openly, "Your Excellency Marcus Varro, I will meet with Caesar to arrange it properly, but the specific affairs of the province and the maintenance of order will be troublesome. General Galius."

In other words, Lepidus will soon continue to attack Pompey's army further north along the city of Corduba, and entrust the entire province to himself with peace of mind - although he doesn't know how to express it, Galius is convinced , even if the other party had a hostile relationship before, but he lost at the hands of such a person, he had no dissatisfaction and regret.

The ceremony was held on the nearest auspicious day. It can even be said that the officers and soldiers under Varro had been looking forward to this day for a long time. They had been hungry for a long time, so when the time came, under the banner of the flag officer and the centurion, The leader, with no shame of defeat on his face, walked for three or four Roman miles and entered the confines of Lepidus' camp. One by one, he placed the eagle flag and team logo neatly in front of the main gate, and then they all sat on the ground. , waiting for the meal. "There are no winners or losers in this war. Pessimists like Pompey and Cato see it this way, and optimistic people like me see it this way too!" On the podium in the school grounds, Lepidus took the opportunity to address all the soldiers. The speech said, "From the Pillars of Hercules to the deserts of eastern Syria, from the black forests of the Renus River to the hot edges of the African wilderness. They are all the territory of the Republic. It does not only exist in the name of the sword, but also in the name of the sword. In the hearts of every citizen, it is time to abandon the narrow moral values ​​of the past and the artificial division into Roman citizens, Italian citizens, and foreigners, although it is unrealistic to expect them to give up this idea on their own. , but Caesar leads all of us to still work hard for this dream-just like the province of Gaul that has obtained citizenship, all tribes, cities, and market towns in the three provinces of the Iberian Peninsula deserve to be granted. The same treatment, soldiers. You are not defeated today, you are just freed from the shackles of the evil conservatives. Welcome home, brothers and comrades! I am personally very grateful for your enthusiasm and frankness. But the war and destruction in Spain will not last long, so why should we increase the burden on this land? So I can only say to you now that if there is no wife and children in the family? , please leave the military camp; if your parents only have one child, please leave the military camp; if the assets in your luggage are not rich, please leave the military camp, and then I will select volunteers from among all the remaining soldiers."

All the people kept their word, and those who were sent home were sent home, and those who volunteered to continue serving in the army. Soon Lepidus selected 4,000 soldiers from all the people who surrendered, and gave them reliable and strong weapons. , including Spanish long shields and leather shields, as well as pack horses and ballistae. Lepidus' plan was to later enrich these people into the twenty-seventh legion with the number of Combano and become the backbone of his relatives.

Therefore, in his letter to Caesar, Lepidus said in an understatement that the whole of Lusitania has surrendered and has returned to your arms to provide soldiers, food and spiritual encouragement for your cause. This is no less than a battle. After the glorious victory at the siege of Masseria, according to your decree, I granted Roman citizenship to all the barbarian nobles and free men in the territory. As for the legions and allies that Varro had previously raised, I also peacefully dismissed them on the spot - —Dear Consul, I have won the allegiance of Corduba and other places, and the key to the rear of the Spanish province has been opened. I will immediately lead the Sixth Army to drive directly behind Afranius. I hope that you can quickly Take decisive action!

After the letter was sent, Sabo came to report that the shy former governor Varro was wearing casual clothes, accompanied by his retinue, requesting to meet you outside the camp.

Ah, Varro is a face-loving person after all. He is a bookish person who can't lose face. He admits "I have lost the battle and I surrender to you unconditionally." This kind of honesty makes Lepidah feel that this old man is very cute. In addition, After accurate accounting, the roster and account books provided by Varro are still very honest.

So outside the camp, Lepidus walked out, personally performed the courtesy of a father to Varro, and humbly said that even Caesar was his student. Now that they are fighting against each other, it is really regrettable and heartbreaking. Then, before Varro could say anything polite, Lepidus immediately asked his followers to present several boxes. Varro asked someone to open them and see that they were all full of books. Among them were two precious manuscripts that he had spent his whole life hoping to get. One is "Latin Grammar" and the other is "Encyclopedia of Gods". The old man was trembling with excitement. He originally thought he would never see these two books until his death. In fact, the former was discovered by Lepidus' men when they were renovating the fireplace in an inn in Etrunia, while the latter was collected in Cyrene. In a library in California.

The two quickly became familiar with each other, so when Lepidus made another suggestion, Varro agreed very readily after a few glasses of good wine, including appointing Gallius as the acting governor of the province and Galonius as the acting governor of Cadice. As for Varro himself, he said frankly, "As long as Caesar is willing to be a generous sponsor, I don't mind retiring from politics, spending my old age in the garden, and writing books." So Lepidus immediately catered to his wishes and said that he was personally willing to take out 20 talents to help you build an academy with precious cherry trees.

After pacifying the locals, Lepidus led the legion into Corduba, and Combano's troops also hurried to join him. About a market day later, Lepidus received accurate news: Afranius began to retreat from Ilerda.

Then, it's time for me to seize the opportunity! )