Augustus Road

"We reduced the salary to three obos a day, not because we are poor, but because we are afraid that you will become corrupt and harm your health if you have too much money..." - Commander Ahibi in the Peloponnesian War explained to the soldiers after the salary cut

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After hearing Lepidus' question, Caesar was stunned for a moment, then raised his fine forehead wrinkles and said leisurely, "It's very simple, because I have no money."

The whole scene suddenly became awkward. Several slaves and lower-level clerks who were still collecting documents and seals around them subconsciously slowed down their pace and stared at the two people sitting face to face with suspicious eyes. They were the two most important figures in charge of this army, the consul and his chief deputy.

Caesar pinched his nose to ease his mood, as if he was worried about something. Then he stopped being shy and said to Lepidus, "Carabis, I don't think I need to hide anything in front of you. I did the same to Labinus before. Since I promoted you to deputy assistants, it means that there is no grudge between us. Before Labinus left, I did not restrict his whereabouts and freedom, even though I knew that his family and hometown were from Pompeii's Creon. As I told you before, I did consider you in my will, and I wanted to marry Atia to you. Although you refused, our relationship remains the same, right? I can only say that if I go to the tour meeting in Corduba and raise less than 500 talents of military funds for rewards and salaries, I am afraid that the soldiers will mutini when they return to the Italian border." "In fact, Banks is going to nominate me as Dickitudo again. This time I plan to serve for a longer term, and then distribute the provinces. Lusitania will be given to my other deputy general Tellurias. The two Spains will be given to Callidius, Gaul to Decimus, and the future Africa will be yours." Caesar continued calmly.

"Five hundred talents, right? I am confident that I can mobilize the knights and the Chamber of Commerce to raise this amount of money within three months." Lepidus smiled. He promised the money very straightforwardly. At this time, outside the tent, all the surrendered Pompeii soldiers were surrounded by the podium. Their superiors had left Spain, but they had to stay and accept the treatment of the victor.

Caesar's speech was still concise and clear, in the same style as his writing and debate. "In the fierce battles that took place in Spain in the past, the officers and soldiers of both armies performed their duties bravely and selflessly. In this regard, there is no distinction between enemies and friends. I don't want to make such a prejudice. Whether it is my subordinates or you, you are all qualified and excellent soldiers. Your service career is glorious because of this battle. In the previous Ilerda, although our side was in an advantageous position in terms of military strength and situation, I still had good intentions for peace. I often thought, if the conflict in the country could be resolved without bloodshed, how wonderful it would be. When I went south to the port of Brindisi, I kept sending envoys to Pompey, requesting a meeting between the two. "I can talk freely, but I have been repeatedly obstructed by certain people. This time in Spain is the same. Senior commanders such as Afranius and Peletaus were blinded by arrogance and hatred and regarded your demands as nothing. Because of this, the war broke out and continued. I lost three legions of 10,000 excellent subordinates, and you suffered no less than 6,000 casualties in the previous pursuit. These are avoidable sacrifices." After saying this, Caesar's eyes actually flashed with tears. Lepidus stood at the door of the tent, looking at his back, thinking that this man was indeed extraordinary. This speech just now not only eliminated the anger and shame of Pompey's soldiers, rekindled their self-esteem, and pushed the responsibility onto the enemy commander.

Next, Caesar cleared his throat and formally announced the decision. "Even now, I still restrain my army to prevent them from taking revenge on you. Because of the defeat under Ilerda, my soldiers have accumulated a lot of resentment, so I am not going to abuse anyone as a winner. All the soldiers in the Spanish provinces will now be treated as retired. If you are recruited from local colonial cities, or have married local women and have your own houses and lands, you can leave freely and return to your loved ones. If you are recruited from other parts of the Republic, please go to the Varus River at the northernmost tip of Spain and then go back to your own place. I promise that no one's life will be harmed during this period, unless some of you continue to take up arms and endanger our army after leaving Spain. I also hereby declare that the entire Iberian island has returned to peace, and there is no need to keep so many legions stationed. "

All the soldiers shouted and raised their hands. For most of them, the war was completely over. Then Caesar went to Corduba, and Lepidus first led the financial team in the camp again and began to provide severance pay to all the soldiers who left: one-third of them started a family in the local area, and each person was given 200 sesterces, and those who left the country later were given double the money.

In this tedious financial accounting, Lepidus confirmed that what Caesar said was true. This guy was indeed penniless. The huge wealth he obtained in the Gallic War was also burned to maintain these legions. And unlike Lepidus, Caesar never had a stable wealth base. He relied on his personal courage and charm of "making money out of nothing" to walk a tightrope between politics, the military and the financial world.

After thinking for a while, Lepidus quietly called Milu and Sabo at the same time and said to them, "When they were dismissed, were all the soldiers of the Pompeii army happy?"

"Of course not, I have served for many years, and I also found the old soldiers who served in Spain and General Seteuris in the team. I can tell this kind of people at a glance. The tattoos on their arms have faded. These people can do nothing but serve as soldiers and eat food." Milu said with certainty. )